Taking The Leap
by DiNishaRob
Summary: One weekend and one Wedding in Nantucket changed Bella's life forever. What do you do when you meet your soul mate at the most inopportune time? Do you go with what is morally right even though it feels wrong? Do you resist the urge to run with it because everything about that situation screams complicated? Or do you...Take The Leap? And what happens after you do? Language& lemons
1. Chapter 1- Helping a Friend

**Hello all, yes you aren't reading wrong. This is a new twilight fanfic. Now, I know I said I would take a break but this story line was stuck in my head. This will be written more along the lines of MY writing style, as opposed to trying to stick to the Twilight fashion like I did with the continuation fan fics. the characters are only true in name and appearance.( I believe bella can have a backbone, and alice emmett can be the calm.. things likr that) There will be sexy parts, and no not the vague ones like Facing dusk or Lunar Adversaries, so if you arent prepared... Anywho let me know what you think ive only done the first two chapters so far. **

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Chapter 1- Helping a Friend

"Bella!" A high pitch squeal called from the throngs of people boarding and un-boarding flights at Logan International.

I hated this airport and avoided it whenever possible. I much more preferred the little to non-existent crowds of Worcester Regional to the massive hysteria of this place; even if I had to pay a little extra. But due to the terrible thunderstorms in the area—and Worcester's limited flight options—I was forced to adjust my itinerary if I had any hopes of making it to Boston before the weekend.

Being in airports for the past twenty hours with two layovers and the headaches of redirecting my flights had been a nightmare—but when that tiny four-foot ten-inch frame poked through the others and I saw those bubbly grey eyes none of the airport stuff seemed to matter anymore.

"Alice!" I breathed in relief wrapping my arms around her forgetting all my troubles back home and on the way, "It's _so_ good to see you."

"I know, it's been _forever_. I haven't seen you in person since graduation. God, I've missed you."

—

We had met our sophomore year at Champlain College. We were two of the fifteen students lucky enough to snag a room at the Carriage House just off campus. Our personalities were polar opposites— with her wild outgoing demeanor and my calm more focused reserve I thought we we'd be in for a long year.

But much to my surprise—and delight— I warmed to her right away (like everyone to) and we had quite a bit in common. Though our majors were different—mine being Management and Innovation, her choice being International Business— we'd both come to Champlain for the exact same reason.

We both minored in Event Management and this college in the small town of Burlington, Vermont was the best place to go in all fifty states.

The three years flew by and last June we graduated, sending us both to opposite sides of the country to take the coasts by storm one glamorous event at a time.

Though communication wasn't nearly as frequent due to the high demands my job required of me; we made it work.

—

Now here we are, both pleased and in no way surprised that the energy between us felt like no time had passed at all.

"_Thank you for coming!_" She shrieked again, locking her arms around my torso and squeezing for dear life. "You have no idea how much I needed you."

If I had to base it on the grip of her hug, the need was dire indeed. I wanted to answer her, but her tiny arms were cutting off my air supply.

Luckily, a deep voice chuckled behind me, "I've got this Bella." I couldn't see him but I felt his strong hands make quick work of unlocking his sister's arms, despite her fuss. "Geeze, let her breathe Allie."

Not that I got a chance too, because the very second I was free, I spun around to hug the six foot five, heavily muscled teddy bear that was her brother, and his hugs always left me winded. "It's good to see you, Em." I grunted when he squeezed me hard and straightened out leaving my feet missing the ground.

He sat me down with a chuckle, "It's good to see you too. This your bag?" He pointed at the luggage on wheels next to me.

I nodded, "It's okay, I'm just going to roll it; it's a little—" He grabbed it and held it at his side like it weighed ten pounds. "_Heavy_."

Emmett rolled his eyes, giving me a smirk that made his dimples even more pronounced. "You insult me Bella—"

A random passenger reached over me to grab is luggage from the carousel, almost hitting me in the face with it in the process. I staggered back almost knocking Alice over.

"Watch it asshole!" Alice snapped after him, not that he paid her any attention, already disappearing through the crowd. "_Hey_!" she called starting to go after him.

I threw an arm around her neck to stop her, genuinely laughing at the thought of her taking on anyone his size. God I missed her. "What do you say we get out of here before she goes twelve rounds with the next person that decides not to pack their manners?"

"Good idea." Emmett grunted pushing through the travelers, leading a way to the exit—any exit.

Once my bag was loaded into the trunk Alice slid in the backseat with me, leaving poor Emmett to play chauffer.

The airport wasn't far from their parents' house in Beacon Hill, but the massive amount of traffic this time of day was going to give us loads of time to catch up. I decided Emmett would be the easiest to start with.

"How's Rosalie Em?"

He caught my eyes in the rearview mirror his smile flashing ten miles wide. "Rose is good. Work has her stuck in New York for another day, but she's going to meet us in Cape Cod before the wedding."

I had met Rosalie when she showed up with Emmett to pick Alice up to travel homes for the holidays our junior year. Alice was already introducing her as her 'sister' even though they'd only been dating for a few months at the time.

She was…intimidating at first sight, but once you got to know her—and she liked you enough to let you—you loved her. I was glad to hear they got married that summer before senior year and was bummed that my internship kept me from attending.

"How's married life treating you?" I teased at his blush.

He shrugged, trying to play it cool, but his excitement was so palpable that it was almost another passenger in the car. "It's pretty cool…"

Alice rolled her eyes, "Pretty disgusting if you ask me. They're still in that 'sex all the time' newlywed phase. I thought that went away after the first year." I laughed and she rushed to her defense, "I'm telling you Bella, there are some things a sister just shouldn't see."

"Maybe if you didn't just _let_ yourself into people's houses you wouldn't." He chuckled without apology finding my blush amusing. My face was no doubt thirty shades of red.

"Gah!" Alice scoffed giving up, "_Anyway_, Bella, how's that boyfriend of yours?"

My smile fell. "Jacob's fine."

"Trouble in paradise?" Emmett asked checking me in the rearview again, his eyes concerned. "Want to talk about it?"

Alice's head whipped up to the front and she snapped on him, "You pay attention to the road Emmett Cullen, this is girl talk." Emmett grumbled something neither of us heard, but Alice ignored it turning back on me, "Spill."

I felt my face get hot, I didn't want to make this trip about me or my life in San Francisco. This was meant to be an escape, so I decided to keep it simple. "We had a fight before I left." Alice cocked an eyebrow, forcing me to elaborate. "He wanted to come with me."

"Why didn't you bring him?" Emmett wondered aloud turning his head to face us since traffic was at a complete standstill. Alice reached up and flicked his forearms with a loud pop, "Ow! Damn it Alice that shit stings."

"I _said_ stay out of it." She repeated.

He faced the front again, rubbing the pink welt that was forming. "I was just trying to help." He defended. I wanted to laugh, but the longer they bickered the longer the focus wasn't on me.

"I've got it covered. When we need something heavy moved or we need to design a house, we call _you._ When the topic is boys and relationships, that's _me_." She clarified.

"She's my friend too," he reminded, almost sounding like a seven year old. "Right Bella?" I nodded without hesitation, in all of the years I'd known him, I'd definitely considered us at least that, if not more like family. "_See_."

Alice gave me a sympathetic look, giving me a reassuring pat on my hand like I was preciously confused, "No, she's _my_ friend. You met her through _me._ She only tolerates you because you're my older brother. Besides, you're twenty-eight, you shouldn't be having girl talk with twenty-two year old girls anyway."

Emmett's eyes narrowed on her in the rear view, "Maybe I'm just looking to fill a 'little sister' vacancy since the one I have is annoying."

I couldn't hold in the laugh after that, and it felt _so_ good—I needed this trip.

Unfortunately it brought attention back on me, "Stop distracting us—now. Why didn't you invite him?"

Em mumbled a 'that's what I asked', but I didn't bring attention to it, instead choosing to answer them both. "Because this isn't purely pleasure trip. I'll be helping Alice, and we're going to be busy up into the wedding day. And the day of, I'm going to be even busier." I explained logically.

Alice nodded, "Sounds like a good reason. But you know we would have found a way to entertain him if he came."

I shook my head, "That's not the point. I travel a lot already, with work and it's only going to increase when I go into business for myself. If we're going to be a couple he has to be able to handle me making trips solo without him accusing me of cheating."

"He accused you of _cheating?_!" Alice and Emmett gasped at the same time.

I nodded, "Crazy right?"

"Anyone that knows you knows you don't have a dishonest bone in your body," Alice shook her head.

"So he'll be cooling off over the next four days," I dismissed getting mad all over again.

"I'm sorry asking for your help made you and Jacob fight…" Alice apologized, and I could tell she honestly felt bad.

I didn't want to ruin the car ride more by explaining that it was _Jake's_ insecurities that caused our fights and _not_ my need to travel. This argument was actually becoming routine.

He'd accuse me of cheating, I'd tell him he was crazy, we'd argue, I'd leave for my trip and ignore any attempts he made at contacting me for the duration too mad to talk to him. Then I'd return home, he'd come over and apologize with grand words and I'd forgive him.

"Trust me, it's not you at all," I promised trying to shake off my anger.

Emmett shook his head, "Sounds like an insecure wimp if you ask me. You deserve better than that. I suggest you cut him loose, cut your losses, and move on."

That's what I loved about Emmett, where Alice had the ability to make me feel good, Em had the gift to make me see the un-sugarcoated reality. He never told me the truth in a mean way, but out of love.

He was right, the emotional ups and downs were taxing at the very least and despite all of our talks the results were always the same. "Honestly, if things don't change soon, I'll be doing just that."

"Good," Alice nodded in agreement. "Thanks for coming again…I really need you on this."

I smiled, glad that the 'me' part of this was over, "You don't have to keep thanking me Allie. This is your first time planning an event solo. I'd be mad if you _didn't_ as me to be there."

"Three-hundred and fifty guests have me a bit _obsessive_. I swear if I didn't need to stand by my brother I'd take full reigns just to make sure it goes smoothly." She sighed nervously—which wasn't like her at all.

"Well it's not every day your bother gets married. You should be able to be a part of the wedding and the memories, not just in the back making calls and yelling at florists." I understood. "That's what I'm for."

Alice had planned this wedding to the last tea light but her brother—having always been close—asked her to be his 'best woman'. That meant pictures, activities, actually _being_ a part of the wedding not seeing to the responsibilities of it. Being her best friend I was the only person she trusted enough to hand those responsibilities over to when the time came. Which was a big deal because Allie didn't relinquish power to _anyone_.

"I need this wedding to go off without a hitch…"Her tone sounded wistful, "For Edward's sake…"

I caught something in her words, "Is something wrong?"

I knew _of_ the middle brother Edward through mentions and pictures but— having decided to attend college and graduate school at Cambridge—we never actually met personally. I knew even less about his fiancé Tanya. Only that they met his first year at Cambridge.

Emmett shrugged, "Might as well tell her, she'll but two and two together this weekend anyway."

Alice sighed, "Let's just say, Tanya isn't my first choice as a sister-in-law."

"Oh." What else could I say?

"And she's not the only one that feels that way," Emmett offered.

That was a shock, Emmett liked _everybody_, "What's _wrong_ with her?"

Alice shook her head, "She's lovely—"

"Ha! _Lovely_. More like a self-obsessed _brat._" Em corrected.

Some Emmett and Alice felt the same. I only had one question, "Have any of you tried to talk to him?"

"The whole family has, but he swears it's what they both want and they're happy." Alice divulged.

"Well then, what can you do?" I sighed at a loss for words since I didn't know either of them enough to tell if it were true or not. I was no relationship expert, but I knew that when two people were set on doing something, you wish them happiness and support them.

"Give him the best wedding I can," Alice nodded resolved, no doubt thinking along the same lines I was.

Emmett on the other hand had a different answer, "Keep the car running out back and pray for a last minute hit of sanity."

"Emmett Cullen—" Alice started to scold, but I was red faced and rolling over in laughter.

"A real event planner prepares for _all_ possibilities but I'm with you Allie." I choked out trying to sober up.

Self-obsessed brat or not; Miss Cambridge University was going to be Tanya Cullen by the end of this weekend.

—

"Look Carlisle, Bella's here," Mrs. Cullen greeted with elation opening the door for me. "How are you been darling?"

The warmth she enveloped me in was so comfortable I didn't want to let her go. "I've been well, Mrs. Cullen, how have you been?"

At first meet, Mrs. Cullen was everything you would want in a mother, and by our second meet she had completely replaced my own. She was intelligent, witty, motherly, passionate, loving, curious, creative, imaginative, but most of all welcoming. We were about the same height, and her wavy caramel colored hair always held back from her face apart from a bang on certain days gave her a classic look that rarely existed anymore.

Her blue eyes rolled and she released me putting her hands on her hips, "How many time to I have to tell you, _Mrs. Cullen_ was my mother-in-law."

"Sorry—sorry," I rushed to apologize, "How have you been Esme?"

She pushed her caramel colored hair out of her face in exasperation. "With family calling from all over, and the weather so unpredictable, delaying flights into Boston—This wedding is driving me completely up the wall. Thank goodness we'll only have to go through this once more with Alice."

"Hopefully," Emmett mumbled ducking in to get my bag out of the rain. I subtly stepped on his foot with my heel and he adjusted, "Hey ma, which room is going to be Bella's?"

"She's sleeping with me." Alice chirped up shaking the rain from her jacket. "You don't mind do you?"

I shook my head, "Not at all."

Esme was still in apology mode, "With all of our children settling in the north east we thought buying a quaint home up here made the most sense for the time being. i knew that we'd need more room eventually."

"Not a problem Esme, it'll be like college all over again." I smiled looking around the house. Quaint wasn't quite the word I would use to describe their five bedroom five bathroom home in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Boston but I suppose if you compared it to their home I visited in Florida it could fit.

The house Alice and Emmett grew up in wasn't a house by any means. Alice labeled it as a 'mansionette' but what did I know. The Cullen's were wealthy, but under Esme and Carlisle's guidance they remained humble. Speaking of Carlisle…

"I thought I heard Bella," He grinned hugging me, "How was your fly in sweetheart?"

If I had to describe Carlisle Cullen I'd use words like, compassionate, clever, open-minded, gentle, a man of few words, but caring. He was the only blonde in the family and he wore it perfectly slicked, his grey eyes charmingly youthful.

"Don't get me started…" I groaned dramatically, showing just how bad the flight was. "I'm just glad to be here."

"And we're glad to have you." He promised leading me into front room.

—

I listened to what the five of them had been up to for a good hour and a half, Esme occasionally having to excuse herself to check on dinner. Both of them were terribly adjusting to retirement, Esme throwing herself into teaching an art class Tuesday's and Thursdays, while Carlisle produced several medical articles that had either been published or pending publication.

"I'm telling you, if mom turned her back long enough dad would be in the closest OR scrubbing up waiting to be handed a scalpel." Emmett teased passing me the potatoes so that I could plate myself.

"Fishing isn't for me," he admitted unapologetic, with the same smile.

"So Bella—tell us about your job in San Francisco." Esme insisted.

I continued cutting my chicken as I gave her the rundown. "Well I work for Everlasting Affairs, an event planning firm based in San Francisco. Right now I'm Zafrina's coordinating assistant, but it's been quite a learning experience so far."

"Zafrina…" Esme repeated tossing the name over in her head, "Does she have a last name?"

I comically shook my head, "Luz, but don't tell anyone I told you that. She only goes by _Zafrina_, much too busy in the _here and now_ to be burdened by such trivial things as surnames."

Emmett chuckled taking a gulp of his wine, "She sounds like a handful."

"She's… _erratic_," I answered truthfully, "But she's a brilliant planner, and I'm leaning a lot."

"Well that's what's important," Carlisle agreed, much more opening minded than my own father and mother were.

"What about you Allie, have you picked a firm yet?" I asked refilling my wine glass.

She shook her head, "Edward's wedding planning had taken up all of my time. Tanya had changed her mind on events over a dozen times taking me back to square one with each decision."

There was an awkward silence at the mention of Tanya, but I didn't let it linger long, "We'll it's only preparing you for the indecisiveness of actual clients right?"

"Exactly," Alice agreed. "Once the wedding has calmed down, I'll continue my search for a real life job."

A crack of thunder filled the house, the storm going it's best to make purchase on the large bay windows of the dining room. "This weather is starting to feel like an omen."

No—that won't do. The minute I walked in this house, I was officially the Cullen wedding coordinator, and whether I knew the couple or not dwelling on the possibilities of bad things ruining the event was a huge no, no. "Cape Cod is expecting slight drizzles on our first day, and sunny skies for the rest of the weekend."

Carlisle smiled in delight, "Well look at you, already getting to business."

"So when do I meet the bride and groom?" I asked getting down to another point.

Esme grinned at my professionalism, "They are flying directly into Cape Cod for the welcome, so you'll meet them then."

I nodded absorbing that information while Alice added more information, "We're leaving first thing in the morning, so we'll arrive before everyone else just to make sure everything's perfect. We'll go over the plans I've made so far, and I'll give you all of the numbers to make sure it happens."

"Did you print an itinerary?"

She nodded, "Of course. I made one for sunny weather and rain."

"Perfect…" I praised.

Alice grew more excited as we talked, "I was thinking that maybe you can interview both of them, get a feel for how _they_ imagine things and throw in a special touch here and there that I may have missed."

I knew what she was referring to, the 'dream talk' as I called it was slowly but surely becoming my signature that set me apart from other planners. I would have a short five minute talk with each of them, coaxing out their nuptial vision they may have thought was too silly before and dismissed it, and find a subtle way to bring it into their actual day. I would totally be willing to do that for Edward and Tanya, "I'd _love_ to."

We didn't even notice that were completely ignoring the others until we caught the three of them chuckling and whispering about is. "That looks like it's our cue to let the planners do their planning." Carlisle guessed.

"We'll leave you to it." Esme agreed.

"See you in the morning Bella," Emmett smirked dropping two mugs of coffee in front me, and the other in the spot where Alice _was_ sitting.

Puzzled I looked up at him, "Thanks Emmett." Where'd that fairy run off to so quickly?

She came back with a two inch black binder letting it fall between us while she sat on her knees in the chair. I opened it flipping through the well laid out plans for the Cullen wedding weekend. "This is it…"

"That's all of it," She promised trying figure out what I was thinking.

This was going to be a lot to figure out before she handed it over to me in less than twenty four hours, but for Allie, I'd figure it out. "Let's get started…"

—

It honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. When I say Alice took everything into consideration that was an understatement. Every seating arrangement, floral bouquet, and event plan was documented to the letter and most of them even accompanied a picture so that I could make sure it was absolutely perfect.

The theme for the wedding was Summer Masquerade, and there was a weekend full of brunches, rehearsals and activates that fit the concept. Alice decided on the theme because Edward had taken Tanya to Phantom of the Opera for their first date, and every year that they'd been together—also where he proposed.

The entire hour plus drive with Emmett was spent with me recalling details from memory to assure Alice that I got it. Esme and Carlisle decided to drive ahead of us and spare themselves the stress of Alice's obsession.

"Are you ready for this Bells? Once I give you this cellphone, my brother's wedding is officially your baby and I become just another member of the bridal party," She sounded horrified of the thought, and I tried not to take offense.

Emmett turned off the car in front of the hotel, "Just give her the damn phone Alice."

She scowled at him and I used the moment to snatch it away in complete disbelief that she dedicated a separate line to this wedding. "I've got it Alice. Enjoy the wedding now."

"I love you," She hugged me again before we got out to confirm everything we needed.

We requisitioned the Hyannis Harbor Hotel for the night of the welcome party requiring all 136 rooms and then some—other guests that weren't immediate concerns bleeding out into the surrounding hotels for the night. Since there was no real venue in Cape Cod that could accommodate the size of the wedding party Alice acquired a cruise ship that would dock as Lewis Bay and sail around the harbor for the duration of the cocktail party.

"I love you too," I grinned unhooking myself so that I could get out and get to work.

I checked into my room, pleased at the large king size bed, with a balcony overlooking the harbor. I could see myself curling up on the balcony with a book being cooled by the summer breeze coming in from the harbor. Too bad I wouldn't be able to enjoy it, and it only existed to serve the purpose as a place to shower, take a nap and hold my things.

I unzipped my suitcase and looked over my wardrobe. The meet and greet was going to be a semi-formal standing cocktail set up, so I didn't hesitate to pull out my 50's style jade green cocktail dress with black netting along the bottom to trim it. That and my black satin peep toes.

I hurriedly showered, shaved, and washed my hair taming it all up in a high fun ponytail to make my look less serious. I grabbed my phone and shot off a quick text.

_Can I take the car? I want to check on the cruise ships progress…-B_

It took him a second to answer.

_Already? The parties not until five. -Em_

_I'm a perfectionist if nothing else ;) –B_

His next response was quicker.

_Lol, sure. The valet number is 898, I'll call down and tell them to get it for you. Alice and I can just ride over with Mom and Dad. Go be brilliant little sis. –Em_

_Thanks-B_

Sliding my feet into foldable flats—every events planners saving grace— I grabbed my over the shoulder bag of necessities, my heels, dress, Alice's wedding book and darted back downstairs.

The dock was bustling with caterers, and crew preparing for the party. I quickly introduced myself to the catering lead, and examined each hors d'oeuvre. After that I hunted down my deejay to check his music selection.

"This won't do." I denied shaking my head at his playlist. It was all stuffy songs that you would hear at an over sixties charity event. Sure it would be appropriate for the older guests in attendance, but what about the people _under_ forty? The couple getting married was only three years older than Allie and I were.

The dee-jay named Eric gave me a flustered 'tell me about it' look. "The lady wasn't very specific in her request. She said classic cocktail party piano accompaniment."

"Oh, Eric, Eric, that's exactly what we're doing. We just need to compromise so no one dies of boredom." Thankfully my iPod was filled with different genres for this type of disasters. "Plug this into your laptop, drag over the last five playlists, and get an idea of what you need. If you need more songs we'll make a few iTunes purchases."

"Sure thing Bella." Eric grinned looking over what I had.

My phone was ringing—not that party planner one— so I shot him a wink before picking it up. "Hey Alice."

"Where are you?" She insisted, and I could hear music in the background.

I looked around at the progress as I talked, "I'm already at the ship—"

"—Is everything okay?" She rushed in a panic. I had to pull the phone away to keep from going death.

"Breath Alice…" I ordered calmly. "Everything is in order, I just wanted to double check. I did fix a potential music problem."

"What music problem?" Alice demanded.

I took a deep breath reminding myself that it's her brother's wedding and she's stressed. "Okay, I will tell you _if_ you promise not to ask about anything else for the rest of the weekend…"

"But—"

"—No 'buts' Allie, you are a normal member of the wedding party now. So you need to start thinking like one." I dictated. "Just trust me."

She let out a deep breath. "I do trust you, that's why I asked you….Okay… no more back seat coordinating."

I waited until I was sure I could believe her, then went on to explain the senior citizens playlist the DJ planned to play during the reception. She scoffed in disbelief, "I told Tanya to tell the guy specifically what she wanted. Obviously she failed."

"Well it's taken care of now," I assured pointing the way for a florist before leaning over the railing to take a break and speak to her properly.

Alice paused for a moment, "So…what did you change it to…"

"You'll know when you get here," I laughed locking eyes with a man in all white on the other end of the deck. His face flushed red like he'd been caught doing something and I could only guess what he was thinking. "Hey I think I just caught the Captain checking out my ass. I gotta call you back."

I straightened up and walked over to him. He stared down at me, his dirty blond hair blowing in the breeze. He didn't look like any Captain I'd ever seen, and the only give away was the uniform. He didn't look over thirty five, "So _you're_ the one that's been turning my ship upside down." He accused with a rough voice filled with humor.

I got straight to business like always, "Just the person I want to see, I need to talk to you about your departure and arrival time for tonight, and the time we need to ferry the guests to the island. I'm worried if this party goes too far over schedule they won't be here early enough to catch us."

He laughed taken aback by my focused demeanor. "Do you need anything else?"

"In fact, yes I do. A place to store this and get changed for the party" I smiled trying not to be too tense, holding up my things.

"Well I have a place for that." He assured leading me back the way he came. "I'm James by the way."

"Pleased to meet you James, I'm Bella…"

—

"It turned out amazing," Alice praised looking around, her silver mask in no way hiding her identity. She had abandoned her date and kidnapped Emmett and Rose to find me. "Isn't it perfect guys?"

Emmett nodded looking around. The entire ship decorated in black, gold, silver and white, each guest in an intricate black or white mask. The wedding party in silver and gold ones—brides side gold, grooms side silver.

Not being in the wedding party, Emmett and Rose each wore a black and white one like me. I didn't even want to ask why he wasn't a groomsmen. You could see Rose roll her hazel eyes through the holes, "Alice stop phishing for complements. We know you put this together and it's amazing. It's good to see you again Bells."

"It was my vision but Bella executed it." She corrected her tiny nose wrinkling. But then she perked up hearing a piano version of 'never say never' play over the speakers. "The music choice is amazing."

Carlisle and Esme found us too both dawning their silver masks, "Oh Bella you've got a mask too?" She grinned kissing my cheek. "You did excellent by the way, have you eaten anything?"

Of course I dressed for the party, and wore a mask. Zafrina said purpose of an event planner is to control a situation in the event of an emergency, and sometimes that meant playing MC, mingling, checking on the kitchen, or whatever else. And the best ones fixed crises without anyone ever knowing there was one. That required not standing out, and nothing called attention like a woman in a pantsuit running around with her head cut off.

I shook my head, "No, I'll grab a bite after it's all done."

Emmett grabbed a mini quiche from a passing platter and waved it close to my mouth. "Eat the quiche, you know you want to. It's good."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Emmett leave her alone. She's trying to be a professional. Cut her some slack."

Emmett ignored her ignoring my protests and rubbing the crust on my locked lips, "Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it."

"_Fine_," I hissed ignoring their parents laughs taking it from him, "I can feed myself."

I popped it into my mouth and moaned immediately, the taste was like an edible orgasm. "So good…" I agreed with a nod.

Satisfied Esme started obsessing over my dress telling me how stunning the green looked against my ivory color. I blushed continuing to chew.

"Guys, it's about time I found you," A velvet voice called from behind me. "This is all so amazing."

Esme's face lit up with a familiarity, "Edward darling, get over here and meet the girl that's making your welcome party a success."

I turned around and was shocked frozen, the lump of quiche stuck in my throat. I tried to rapidly blink it down—like that was going to work. Even with half of his face covered he was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. His unruly hair the exact color of Esme's hung over the front of his sliver mask, bringing out the most hypnotic pair of green eyes.

_They match my dress..._ I mentally swooned still unable to gather any real coherent thought. I needed too, because I was running out of air and three seconds away from choking on quiche. This is why you don't eat at an event—Stupid Emmett.

"Oh Edikins there you are…" An English accented woman's voice snapped me out of my haze.

_This man is getting married in two days, and you're gaping at him surrounded by his family and fiancé, at the wedding you're coordinating! Get it together Swan, be a professional! _I steeled myself to swallow the lump in my throat and extended my hand to him.

"Hello Mr. Cullen, nice to meet you, I'm Isabella Swan…"


	2. Chapter 2- First Look

Chapter 2- First look

"_Edikins_," My fiancé whined dead on her feet as I helped guide her through Dulles International.

I would have found it adorable, if she hadn't been whining the entire trip, and we weren't in a hurry to make it to Cape Cod for the wedding—our wedding. I tried to keep my voice even after a bustling traveler stepped on my foot and kept going, "Yes, love."

"I'm tired…" She whined using her free hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

We were both tired. The computer system at our hotel went down and no wake-up calls had been sent out causing us to over sleep and miss our flight that went directly from London to Cape Cod. So we were forced to fly into Dulles and then fly into HYA from there.

"I know sweetheart, you can sleep once we board," I promised pulling her close to me and kissing her forehead. She was doing well, Tanya tended to be on the overdramatic side when things didn't go her way and so far nothing has gone her way. I needed her to hold it together for a few more hours. I knew I had nothing to worry about once we arrived because my little sister was hell bent on giving us the perfect wedding.

She'd started planning the minute I told her Tanya accepted, and was able to put together a wedding for close to four-hundred people in six months not that Tanya made it any easier on her. Obsessed with getting married (like all brides do) she threw herself into wedding shows and bridal magazines calling poor Alice the minute she saw something someone else had and wanted it incorporated in some way.

Yes, all I had to do was get to Cape Cod and—"Shit." I swore looking up at the delay board. Due to weather our flight had been canceled.

"What's wrong?" Tanya perked up a bit. I pointed to the board but pulled out my phone trying to find when the next flight headed out. Sure I could have gone to the counter to do that, but waiting in the line would have taken a lot longer than it would take me to research. "Great, now what are we going to do?"

Leave it to me I suppose, "The next one doesn't leave until tomorrow at eight."

"So we're stuck in the airport all night?" She groaned sitting on the top of her suitcase and burying her face in her hands, "And we're going to miss the Cocktail party."

I could feel the beginnings of a Tanya tantrum stirring. What happened to ambitious girl I met my first year of Cambridge? _That_ Tanya wouldn't have accepted defeat so easily. Especially not over something as big as our _wedding_. "No, we're not going to spend the night in an airport. Come on, let's see what we can work out."

"I'm too tired to walk." Tanya shook her head, the curly strawberry blonde stack loose on her head only added to making her look and sound like a petulant child.

I held in my exasperated sigh, "Alright, then go sit by the bar and I'll come back and get you."

She nodded, and I went off phone in hand determined to find the best way to make it on time. I took a minute to gather my thoughts before I exploded. Flying straight in was out of the question, but I could probably book us somewhere close, like Worcester or Logan, but I loathed Logan International.

Pulling up their schedules I realized the only other option was a red eye heading to Logan. Which was still cutting it close— considering we still had to make the drive to Cape Cod, Check in to our hotel, get changed and ready for the party and manage to stay awake for it.

Then, a rental add caught my eye. We could do it, it was only eight hours and we could make it with enough time to rest up. We were definitely driving, I decided pulling out my credit card and walking up to the counter.

The lady was bubbly despite the late hour and instantly reminded me of my sister. Except this woman was a lot taller and had platinum blonde on the ends of her long black hair. "Hi how can I help you?"

"I'd like to rent a car please," I smiled back kindly. I handed over my drivers license and let her get to work on setting things up while I turned to make sure Tanya was still in the spot I left her. I didn't turn back until the lady coughed to get my attention.

"Mr. Cullen, it seems the computer isn't letting me set up a rental agreement for you." She frowned apologetically.

My eyes widened, "Why not?"

"I don't know, it keep flashing an error." Something in my expression made her feel sorry for me, "Let me check some other possibilities. It'll take a tad bit longer, but I'd like to help if I can."

"Thank you," I let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. This was the last thing I needed.

She looked up at my sympathetically as she typed here and there. "Bad day?"

"The worse," I admitted trying to sound kinder. It wasn't her fault something was wrong and she was doing her best to fix it. "We missed our first flight, out second flight was canceled and the schedules all over the place because of the storms."

"I'm sorry about that," And she sounded like she sincerely meant it. "Where were you heading?"

"Cape Cod—Wedding_._" I answered debating on calling Emmett or Alice and telling them that we were going to be late.

She raised her eyebrows as she typed, "Oh? Who's getting married?"

"Me." I breathed probably not sounding as excited as I should be, but I was exhausted.

"Well let's see what we can do about getting you there," She grinned, her perfect white teeth making me smile in response.

It was infectious, "Thanks, I'm just really looking forward to starting the rest of my life you know?"

She nodded, "She's a very lucky girl. Not most guys are like that." There was a pregnant pause while I tried to figure out how to respond to that. "You wouldn't happen to be Edward A Cullen would you?" She asked hopeful.

"That's me, do you see what the problem is?" I asked feeling on edge again.

She nodded, "It wouldn't let me put new information in the system for you because there is already a reservation for you. I just have to pull up the reservation and fill out the rental agreement from there."

I didn't reserve a car, "But who—"

"Alice Cullen." She answered already knowing what I wanted to ask.

Not even ten minutes later, I was handed the keys to a mid-sized sedan. I didn't even have to give her my credit card. Alice had covered all the basis.

I thanked the lady and called my sister immediately. She didn't answer with a hello, "I checked your flight status while you were still over the Atlantic. I reserved you a rental in case things got too bad, I didn't want them all gone. What kind of car did they give you?"

"Dodge Avenger," I answered quickly grinning miles wide. "I swear Alice it's like you can see the future sometimes. I owe you."

I could picture her tiny hand on her hip pretending to wave off the compliment, "I promised you a problem free wedding, didn't I? I think that covers making sure you get there."

"You're the best," I swore anyway. "If we drive all night I should be able to make it before you guys."

She gave me a noncommittal hmm, which meant she was occupied. Probably sorting through last minute wedding things. Then she surprised me, "How's Tanya?"

I looked over at her, her face propped up by her hand staring up at the television over the bar. I couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked. "She's fine, why do you ask?"

"Because she's days away from being my sister-in-law that's why." She snorted like the answer were obvious.

My smile fell, at Alice's use of the title. Not that she was wrong, technically Alice would be her sister-in-law but the term sounded so impersonal and a completely different from her reaction to Emmett's engagement to Rose. In fact, if my sharp mind could recall, Alice was introducing Rose to everyone as her sister long before Em could even pop the question.

I knew she didn't always feel like Tanya was the best match for me, and voiced the concern when we talked about me getting married. She told me she loved me enough to support any decision I made and actually lived up to her promise. She was standing for me on my wedding day, planned the entire function, and honestly made efforts to welcome Tanya into the family. She respected my decision enough to not try and talk me out of it every ten minutes like a certain older brother I had.

"Well she's fine Alice, excited about the wedding."

That got Alice hyper again, "Wait until you see everything laid out. You're going to flip."

"I'll see you in a few hours." I chuckled before she could get carried away.

It surprised me that she didn't whine and keep me on the phone longer more than willing to let me go, "Good, I'm busy here anyway. See you tomorrow."

"What did you figure out?" Tanya asked standing up to wrap her arms around me.

I held the keys up in front of her face, "We're driving."

Tanya grimaced before a mischievous smiled flashed across her face, "_You're_ driving."

—

"Sweetheart," I called from the driver's side. We were in Connecticut, somewhere between the second and third hour of a new day, and I was beyond tired. "Sweetie…"

Tanya was dead to the world the minute she put her seatbelt on. "Tanya!" I called a little louder trying to wake her up without taking my hands off the wheel.

Her eyes snapped awake, "Wha—what's happening? Are we there yet?"

"No, we're just making it to New Haven, so we have about three hours left. I can't stay awake anymore. Do you mind switching and driving the rest of the way?" I explained.

She let out a frustrated whine, and started shaking her head with her eyes still closed, "_Eddie_… We have pictures tomorrow and if I don't get a full night's sleep my eyes will be all puffy."

My eyes involuntarily rolled into the tip of my skull, "Okay… go back to sleep…never mind the fact that we could crash and die at any minute—as long as the pictures turn out alright."

"So understanding…" She mumbled half asleep in agreement, probably not listening to a word I said—either that or not caring.

I took the next exit hoping to find an all-night _anything_ where I could but some coffee to keep myself awake.

I looked over at my soon to be wife, blissfully absorbed in her dreams. Even after sixteen hours of traveling she managed to look stunning.

When I first met her, Tanya was the complete package. She was smart, funny, caring, hell all around perfect. She came from the right family, said the right things, and was always groomed to perfection. It wasn't until after our engagement that she started to be _less_ than perfect.

She became less interested in the things she used to love, more narrow minded, spoiled, less patient and more selfish. I thought it was the added stress of trying to finish the requirements needed to receive her PhD. I tried to help, assure her that she didn't _have_ to be what everyone else wanted her to be but she laughed at that idea. And over the next few months she grew more apathetic, the only thing she actually showed any interest in, was our future.

Not our wedding—though she did insist on a large event— not our relationship, but our future. How many kids I wanted, where we would live after we got married, and so on. It was all so confusing, to talk about those things meant she wanted them with me right? So why the changes? Maybe it was me? Maybe I changed. I needed to talk to someone but I didn't really have anyone.

My family was being as supportive as possible, so I didn't want to add to their apprehension. And most of my friends didn't know Tanya enough to see the differences in her, so I was forced to settle this on my own. Somehow I needed to find the girl I fell in love with.

"Edward…" She mumbled softly in her sleep turning her head and sinking back into whatever dream she was having.

She was dreaming about me. She called me Edward—Not Ed, or Eddie or any other annoying derivative of my name like she'd been using lately. Yeah, the girl I loved was still in there, we just needed to work together to figure out what happened to her.

—

"Wake up Eddie," Tanya insisted shaking me roughly out of my slumber.

_What time is it?_ I looked over at the clock face showing eleven am. I wanted to kick something. I hadn't even gotten a full five hours. "Just give me another hour…" I insisted wrenching my eyes shut.

"No can do, it's the Friday before our wedding," She denied pulling the blankets off of me—I wasn't ten, I was perfectly capable of adjusting to the coolness if it meant I could get more sleep.

I grumbled another request for more sleep, and she sighed.

Apparently it was her turn to view me as a petulant child, "Edikins, Emmett's already called your phone _twice_. We're supposed to meet them at the restaurant downstairs at noon."

That made me shoot up, "They're _here_?"

Tanya threw her hands in the air, disappearing into the bathroom. "Sure, sure our impending nuptials won't get you out of bed, but the mere mention of Emmett and Alice and you're falling all over the place…"

I didn't respond, mainly because I knew it'd only result in an argument I didn't want to have before we met my parents. I hopped up and took a cool shower to snap some life into me. It was no secret that she didn't like Emmett, and vice versa, but for my sake they both attempted to remain civil. I remember the relief that flooded her face when I told her that I had asked Alice to stand for me at the wedding—the part I didn't tell her was that Emmett flat out refused to be me my best man, or even a groomsmen.

I hadn't seen my parents or siblings in over a month, finishing up the last loose ends of our move from the UK. We were all set to move to our home in Chelsea—after the honeymoon of course.

I got out of the shower to see Tanya had already set out some dress pants and a shirt for our lunch date. "Zip me up?" She requested walking over and turning her back to me, her fingers wet with plum colored polish that matched her dress.

I made quick work of the zipper, planting a kiss on the back of her shoulder when I was finished. She jumped, but not in the way I expected her to, "_Eddie!_" she cringed turning around with wide eyes, "You have stubble."

Turning back to finish my tie, I checked to see if it was too much. "I kind of like it, don't you?"

"No, it's all scratchy, and it makes you look unkempt." She rejected going to find the shoes to match her dress.

"I was going for distinguished," I mumbled in surrender, "But, I'll shave it before the welcome party."

She let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you now— let's go see how my future in-laws are doing."

I surprised a groan, first Alice and now Tanya. What is it with the in-law thing? _Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, anything but in-laws_.

"Edward, sweetheart," My mom gushed wrapping her arms around me the minute we walked into the Bluewater Grille.

The minute we made physical contact every piece of anxiety faded away. How is it that moms can make everything better with just a smile and a hug? "Hey Mom, Dad." I greeted hugging my dad before greeting my sister and brother. "Hey guys."

"Hello Tanya, Edward." My sister greeted making sure to include my fiancé.

Emmett did the same going a step further, "How was your trip in?"

I sighed and my mother's smile fell, "Oh Edward you look positively drained."

"We had to drive through the night to make it on time." I informed surprised that Alice didn't fill them in herself. "We didn't get in until a little after five."

My dad's face creased in concern after the hostess sat us, "We could have canceled if you wanted to rest."

I waved him off, "No, it's good to see you guys. Have some private time before all the wedding weekend festivities."

Emmett nodded in agreement, his blue eyes studying my fiancé, "Tanya, you look…_refreshed_." His wide smile flashed but the light didn't fill his eyes like a genuine complement. I knew what he was doing, and it wasn't helpful.

Tanya didn't see any insult in it. "I slept like a baby for most of the night, and this hotel is amazing Alice, very cozy."

My sister smiled, "I aim to please, and did you get the itinerary's I emailed you…" And like that, they were off, Alice, Tanya and my mom talking about the wedding.

None of interrupted them breaking off into conversation of our own. We caught up on our own things, talked about the house Emmett designed for him and Rose, and I was just getting to asking where she was when he got a text on his phone.

He shot off a response and continued, promising that she was less than an hour away and looking forward to seeing me. His phone buzzed again and he grinned shooting off another text.

"Tell Rose not to text and drive," I prompted.

"I'm not talking to her…" He revealed poking his head up at Dad. "Pops, mind if Allie, Rose, and I catch a ride with you to the welcome party. I just got car jacked."

I tensed wondering why he was so calm about it. "Your car's been stolen?"

"No, Bella took it," He shrugged digging into his steak.

My mind had to run over a million names and faces and still came up short—no face, "Bella, Alice's friend? Why is she here?"

"For the wedding duh." Emmett scoffed.

Thankfully my dad explained, "Alice flew her in to help with coordinating the events—just to make sure they went smoothly."

I didn't know how to respond, my family's involvement on the biggest day of my life was important to me, and Alice seemed excited to plan. I guess I just couldn't understand why she would pass the duties to a stranger the week of. "Are you sure that's the best idea? The weekend of the wedding seems a little too late to bring in strangers."

"Bella isn't a stranger," Emmett defended, "we've practically adopted her."

"She knows her stuff son," My dad promised. "Bella wouldn't have said 'yes' if she couldn't handle it."

"Who's Bella?" Tanya wondered looking down the table at my father.

Emmett smirked in Alice's direction, "My bestest friend."

"She's _my_ best friend," Alice corrected, her grey eyes as thin as slits. Until she caught the question in my eyes. "I handed over the reins to her for the weekend so that I could be a part of the activities. I hope you don't mind."

Did I? When she put it that way—that she passed them off so that she could be included as opposed to no longer caring no I couldn't be anything but flattered. "You could have told me, but I don't see a problem if you don't."

"I do—" Tanya rushed, "What if she doesn't know what she's doing? What if there's a crisis and she can't handle it? What if she ruins our wedding?"

I ran my thumb subtly down her spine, telling her to calm down.

"Bella is a very driven young lady. We've known her for years, and she's already gotten experience for events twice this size under her belt. She's family to us, and that's only doubled her dedication to see to it that everything goes as planned." I never heard my mom speak with such conviction about anyone other than her own children, which told me all I needed to know. Stranger or not to me, my family trusted her explicitly, and that was enough.

The rest of our lunch was pretty much the standard. Tanya didn't say anything else about Alice's choice to bring in Bella and for that I was thankful. She remained courteous and polite, saying the right things, holding the right amount of interest in my family's happenings and for some reason it made me feel uneasy.

—

"I don't know how you do it…" Emmett groaned taking a swig of his beer. My parents and Tanya had gone back to the rooms after lunch, and the three of us stayed to have a drink and talk.

Alice sighed, "Emmett… don't start. Wedding weekend remember?"

"No, let his get it out. I'd rather him vent it at me than hold it in and let it all come out when the priest gets to the 'speak now or forever hold your peace' part of the ceremony." I surrendered knowing what he was going to say.

"Emmett would never do that," Alice rushed, but then bit her tongue having to think about it, "Right Emmett?"

"No Allie, I won't cause a scene in front of hundreds of people. But I won't hold my tongue in front of my own brother." Emmett shook his head.

Alice flagged down the waiter, ordering something stronger. I did too, because I knew I'd need it. This was going to be a last ditch effort to 'save me'. "Fire away Em."

"Okay, first of all, what's with that making you drive all night? Do you know how dangerous that is? Then she practically calls Bella incompetent when she braved bad weather and a flight experience from hell to make sure this day is perfect for you two."

I took a swig of my whiskey before talking, "Well in her defense, the Bella thing was a shock to me too, and if you weren't all sure that this was a good thing I'd have the same concerns."

"I'm sorry about that, I should have told you sooner," Alice apologized, "It's just been crazy doing all of this alone, and I wanted to be a part of everything."

"I understand, now," I dismissed. "I trust you."

Emmett scoffed ordering something stronger along with us. "I'm telling you, that Tanya girl is a fake. She isn't worried about marrying you, she's worrying about being _Mrs. Cullen_."

"How can you accuse of her being a gold digger, she's from money." Alice defended for me.

"I didn't say that she was after his trust fund—though I'm sure it's a plus. I said she wants to be _Mrs. Cullen_." He clarified, not making much sense.

Alice sighed, "You just don't like her."

"You're right, I don't. No one is that perfect. She's a fake. I feel like she spends most of her time with us saying what she feels she should say, acts how she thinks we think she should act and it's all a lie." He accused.

I didn't say anything because in all honesty, she _had_ changed. But that was mostly due to wedding and school stress.

Em took my silence as an excuse to go on. "I'm just saying, there's a reason mom didn't offer grandma's ring, or have you not noticed?'

Of course I noticed. Mom and Dad had both decided to pass along their parents wedding rings to the sons when they found their special someone. When Emmett started dating Rosalie he didn't even have to ask for it. Dad just met him for lunch one day and handed it over telling him to use it when the time was right. Mom was supposed to do the same for me, but after a year of waiting I bought Tanya a ring of my own.

Lost in thought, my sister reached across the table to put her hand on mine—snapping me out of my head. "Do you want to marry Tanya?"

"Yes." But I guess I answered too quickly because Emmett laughed under his breath. "I do want to marry Tanya, and I want my family to support me and be happy for me. I want my brother respect my decision, stop trying to talk me out of it, and accept it already.

We've been together for five years, I love her, she loves me, and it only makes sense that we make things official."

"Love isn't something that makes sense, and it's not _official_. I didn't marry Rosie because it made sense too, I did it because I _had_ to. " Emmett explained.

I sighed giving up. I knew one day he'd accept Tanya, but today wasn't the day. "I just want a piece of what Mom and Dad have—what you and Rosalie have. Don't I deserve that? Don't you want that for me?"

"Of course we want that for you!" Alice shrieked a little louder than she meant to, but I was waiting for Emmett's answer.

He gave me another sigh and slid his credit card into the bill jacket. "Yes, you deserve that. I want nothing more than for you to have what Rose and I have, but you won't find it with Tanya. I don't know where you'll find her, but when you meet her you'll know. You won't be able to think, and all of your feelings will seem crazy, but you'll just _do_…" With a long breath he gave up, "Look, you're my brother, and I'll ride with you no matter what. I think me showing up proves that. You won't hear anything else about it. I love you, man."

"Thanks, I love you too." I breathed glad that it was finally over. I knew it took a lot for him to even be here.

He stood finishing off his drink, "I've got to go meet Rosie up front, and she should be here by now. See you at the party?"

"Yeah, tell Rose hello for me." I nodded. When he let I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding in. "Geeze."

Alice's eyes widened taking another sip of her drink, "Tell me about it."

"I'm so used to him being my number one advocate, it feels strange not to have his support now." I admitted staring at the whiskey I just got topped off.

"He's supporting you the best way he can," My little sister smiled weakly. "He knows you have to make your own decisions. But I admit, it does suck that this is the only thing you two tend to not agree on."

"Do _you_ think I'm making a mistake?"

She stared into her vodka and cranberry, choosing her words carefully. "I think you know your heart and I trust you. That's enough for me. I love you, and as long as she_ loves_ you, I'll love her."

"She does love me," I promised making her nod.

"Then let's get you your happily ever after." She grinned finishing her drink, before getting up. "That's it for me, it's no fun if you're wasted _before_ you get there."

I chuckled feeling my sisters normal exuberant personality resurfacing. "Will I be sizing up fellow determining if he's worthy of my sister or not?"

Her nose scrunched up with her delicate snort of a giggle, "I'm going to be on the arm of Tyler Crowley all weekend. I don't think you want me jumping the broom with him."

I frowned at the name of our second cousin, and also one of my groomsmen. We weren't very close, but I needed thirteen groomsmen and a best man since Tanya had insisted on all of her girlfriends being a part of the wedding. "No, not at all."

"Well then, since we both agree that there will be no inbreeding this weekend. I'm going to go check on Bella and catch you at the party." She winked wrapping her tiny purse strap around her wrist and practically danced away.

—

"Eddie, are you sure Alice knows what's she's doing bringing this Bella girl in?" Tanya wondered from the bathroom slipping into her dress for the welcome party.

Considering my sister actually held a degree for this sort of thing, I trusted her completely. "Yes I think it was an excellent idea."

"But you don't even _know_ her," she reminded me, cocking a skeptical eyebrow.

She had a point there, luckily answering the phone gave me a second to gather my thoughts. It was only the concierge telling us our car was downstairs waiting. I finished my thoughts and answered her as soon as I hung up, "No, but my family does, and I trust them. From what I hear she's been on the ship since she got here, going over every detail. The cars waiting."

She started up again the second we hit the lobby. "I know you trust your family's judgment, but I'm not sure—" She was stunned into silence staring wide-eyed at the car waiting for us. It was an all-white vintage1930's tourer . "Oh Eddie…" she finally managed when she caught her breath. "It's _perfect._"

I smiled enjoying the light in her eyes. With the rain gone, and her fading anxiety, this was starting to look up. "See, you have _nothing_ to worry about." I assured her and myself once the driver walked around and opened the doors.

Arriving on the dock I was even more blown away. The Queen Arbor was a luxurious liner from stern to bow. Then entire thing decorated in black, white, silver and gold. Laughter and piano music were the first things to greet us when we opened the doors.

Tanya was just as stunned as I was when the driver helped us out and we attempted to board greeted by two female harlequins wearing black and white, touches of sliver tracing their costumes and masks.

"Mr. Cullen, Miss Hughston, Welcome and congratulations." Harlequin one greeted with a bright smile. Harlequin number two finished. "These are for you…"

She presented us a small black box each. Tanya ripped hers open immediately revealing an elaborately decorated gold mask. It was trimmed in black, with an intricate design around the eyes the same color. "It matches my _dress_!" She gushed accepting the blonde harlequins' help putting it on.

I grinned at my own mask, it was sliver with the same labyrinth of black. The other harlequin was more than willing to help me with mine explaining as she stood on her tip toes to tie it off. "Black and white are for the guests, gold for the bride and her bridal party…"

"And let me guess, silver for me and my side?" I finished turning to my fiancé. "How do I look?"

Her smile was miles wide, "Better than Gerard Butler."

One of the harlequins giggled getting our attention. "If you'll just go through the front you should see a jester, he'll introduce you to your guests."

I barely got out a thank you before Tanya was tugging me along eagerly and I had no choice but to mirror her enthusiasm.

Once we were introduced the captain announced out plan to set sail and what to do in the event of an emergency or if anyone was overcome by motion sickness—but I knew that there was going to be none of that tonight.

Our guests of all ages laughed and talked as they sipped champagne to and listened to music. The music—most of it was piano, with the occasional violin but the songs were all ones I knew. The older people didn't make the connection, but looking around at guests more towards Tanya and my age bracket I could tell they had.

Couples were scattered about slow dancing, mouthing the lyrics that weren't there. Tanya and I mingled with a few more guests thanking them for making the trip. We shared our immediate plans with the ones that asked questions occasionally taking breaks to dance, drink, or grab a snack, but after the eightieth round of saying the same thing I was anxious to find my sister. Alice had exceeded every expectation, and I needed to thank her.

Then I saw a silvery mask with and spiky black hair skittering between guests with Tyler on her heels. "Edward—finally. I wanted to come over after the introduction but I'd been trying to find Bella." She apologized looking me over, disappointment flashing when she looked up at my face. "You shaved…I was thinking you'd keep it until the day of."

"For the wedding," I nodded shrugging, at least someone liked it. "Hey Tyler, thanks for coming man."

"No prob—this is the best cocktail party I've been to in—ever. I thought it was going to be a snooze fest." He admitted without shame.

I had to agree with him, with the limited musical selection available for a group as mixed as this one, it was pretty much hit or miss—mostly miss. "We have to thank Alice for that, she really outdid herself."

Alice shook her head bouncing so that she wouldn't have to stay still, "No that was all Bella. The stuff the D.J. brought was the standard, she offered her iPod up for inspiration. Mom and Dad are looking for you by the way—"She poked her tiny head around guests as she talked. "Oh I think I saw Bella, I gotta go."

And like that, she was gone leaving poor Tyler solo. We caught up for a little bit until Tanya found me and linked our fingers, "Love in this club…it's Usher." She explained pulling me away to dance again.

We danced to a few more songs and talked to her parents before I separated politely to find my own. You would think it'd be easy to spot a few silver masks in a sea of black and white, but it wasn't in a sea of three hundred and fifty.

I didn't spot them until I broke away from the larger formations and headed closer to the balconies on the starboard. They were smiling and laughing with a guest from the party Emmett trying to force feed her a hors d'oeuvre. We didn't have many family members in our age range, so I had to assume it was someone from Tanya's side of the guest list. She was wearing an emerald green satin like dress that flattered her. Her mahogany hair up in a ponytail of all things—a neat pony tail, but not something you'd expect at this type of function.

She didn't notice me approach behind her, but the first thing I heard was a moan of pleasure that stopped me in my tracks. "_…So good..._" She nodded at my brother who seemed very pleased with himself.

It was such an odd reaction to food but no one mentioned or reacted to it, the five members of my family went on talking to the girl—my complementing her on her dress. I thought that would be a good time to come over.

"Guys, it's about time I found you," I greeted turning to complement my sister again in front them, because if mom didn't hear it it didn't count. "This is all so amazing."

My mom's face brightened twice as much and she waved me over eagerly and it made me feel good because it's the level of excitement I pictured her having for my wedding, excitement I had yet seen. "Edward darling, get over here and meet the girl that's making your welcome party a success." She insisted her voice a touch proud.

The brunette turned around to greet with a bright smile but it fell the minute she saw me. Not that I was much better when I got a view of her. Her heart shaped face took all of the air from the room as my eyes raked over her committing the face to memory. Her skin was a smooth cream, her cheeks were a flushed rose. Her lids fluttered quickly bringing attention to her eyes, and as much as my curiosity wanted to take the mask off to see the full face, I was glad it was there. The deep brown hue was more pronounced with the dark mask covering the top half of her face.

My mind flipped through my mental thesaurus trying to find a word to describe the woman in front of me, but with seven years of Cambridge under my belt I still managed to come up short. In fact I found myself having trouble forming words of any kind. So I didn't. It was better for me to say nothing than to make a fool of myself buy letting some guttural sound come from my throat.

How long have we been staring at each other. We need to break the silence before my parents thought something was up. Was something up? No—definitely not up. Amiss? Maybe that was a better word.

"Oh Edikins there you are…" Tanya's voice called from somewhere behind me peppering annoyance into my pot of whatever else I was feeling. Then I remembered Tanya was my _fiancé_. We were at _our_ party.

Snapping myself out of—whatever that was— I went to start the introduction myself but she was a few seconds faster than me. Her smile was warm, her tone more professional than the one she used with my parents but she extended her hand bravely. "Hello Mr. Cullen, nice to meet you, I'm Isabella Swan."

Like an idiot I reached out and took her hand, almost gasping when I felt the charge shoot from her fingers in some strange direct line to my heart. Everything in my body switched to a live wire, making me a lot more alert than I was before.

I shook her hand, "Pleased to meet you Isabella." Did she feel it too? If I judged the fact that her eyes were blinking a thousand times a minute when she pulled her hand away I would say she did too.

Having to control my frown and fight the instinct to touch her again—for curiosity purposes of course, to see if it'd happen again—were not easy urges to overcome.

Luckily time was only going slow in my head and my family didn't notice anything off about our introduction. Alice's light snort told me that much, "Ever the professional Bella. It's just my brother."

She turned back to my sister, her professional tone gone, "I know, it's a habit with clients." She turned back but didn't look up at me, "Sorry."

"It's quite alright, I can respect professionalism." I smiled wondering what exactly she was apologizing for. "You've done a hell of a job with everything."

"Oh, it was nothing." She shrugged off my complement turning back to my family.

Rosalie stepped forward to give me a hug, "Good to see you Edward, engagement looks good on you."

"Married looks good on you," I one upped releasing her.

She gave me a haughty laugh brushing her bangs out of her face, "Oh me? I'm blushing."

I rolled my eyes, because confidence was one of the many things I admired about her so her face modesty wasn't going to fool me for a second. A part of my mind wondered where Tanya had went, but the others side that was trying to steal a glance at my sisters best friend told that side that she was snatched away from another guess and not to talk her up.

That was wrong, and I mentally chastised myself for it while I talked to my parents and caught up with Rose. She'd just ended her last project in NYC and was ready for the sabbatical she and Emmett were going to use to look for a house closer to Mom and Dad.

I liked the thought of Emmett being closer but that part of my mind couldn't be grateful because the other half was trying to take over all processes just to analyzing Bella's body language. I watched her interact with my family, casual and sweet, but whenever I would raise a question or give her a complement she would tense back into professional coordinator.

I tried not to take offense to it, and reminded myself that she didn't know me as much as the others, but it still bothered me. Why would it bother me?

"Eddie…" Tanya's voice called just when my subconscious started running through hypotheses.

_You're engaged!_ "Tanya love, come meet Isabella. She's helped make all this magic." I smiled extending my arm to wrap it around her waist.

I expected Tanya to assess the poor girl like she did any woman I spoke fondly about, but to my surprise she broke away from me long enough to hug her and plant kisses at the air on the sides of her face. "Thank you so much, this is amazing."

My family watched her in surprise, and Bella flushed red obviously uncomfortable with the closeness but stayed professional. "No problem, glad I could help."

"Eddie and I are excited to see what else you have planned for us if this is the start." She beamed coming back to my side.

Something flashed in her face, but I didn't know her enough to associate it with any emotion. I gave my parents a glance, but they didn't notice it, or give any indication that she was acting strangely in any way. "Well I don't plan on disappointing." She grinned somehow not missing a beat. She looked past us and let out a sigh before turning back, "I need to check on a few things. Mr. Cullen, Miss Hughston, congratulations and enjoy the rest of your party."

"Will you have breakfast with us at the hotel?" My mom frowned in disappointment.

She thought about it but shook her head, "I'll most likely be checking on the ferry to Nantucket. Don't worry guys, I'll make time to visit." She promised looking back at her watch.

My mom's lips locked, she didn't like it but she wasn't going to argue. My Dad reached out to hug her. "Okay, well don't over exert yourself."

"And _eat_ something," Emmett ordered scooping his arms around her neck.

Alice looked anxious, "Do you need any—"

"I've got it Alice." She promised with a smirk before walking away with a wave.

I didn't see Bella for the rest of the party—not that I was searching— I just noticed she was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, I gave up on seeing her again that night and chalked up our introduction as a weird freak thing and it wasn't hard to fall back into the wonder of the event.

—

The party ran until about eleven, and though I should have been tired after the day of travel before I was keyed up. Rose let me and Alice steal Emmett away for a few hours to have a few shots at the restaurant downstairs. Their energy levels were just as high as mine as we joked and laughed about some of the people at the party.

We reminisced about old times as we took shot after shot, the tense atmosphere from earlier today gone completely. I didn't want it to end, but Alice's phone had other plans.

"We got to get sleep," She insisted jumping up, barely swaying despite the fact she was tiny and had four shots of tequila. The girl could hold her liquor—we taught her well.

Emmett groaned, "Why, nothing's on the itinerary after the ferry ride until three?"

"No, no, no," Alice denied, her tiny spikes swaying with each head shake, "We don't have anything but Edward does and he needs to be awake. _You_ need to head back because Rosalie told me that if she didn't get any tonight because you stayed out too late she was holding me personally responsible."

Emmett was paying the tab before she could even finish the sentence, "I'm calling it a night."

I sighed pushing back my chair. "Alice, I'll walk you back to your room."

She hummed the Frey as we walked, except it was slower more melodic, and it took me a second to realize it was the version played at the party. "I like that, I should download it." She explained without me having to ask, "Remind me tomorrow?"

"Sure thing," I placated opening the door bending to give her a slight kiss on the forehead goodnight. I made sure she was securely behind the door before heading to my own room oddly finding myself humming a different melodic version of a pop tune.

Stuck outside the door searching for my room key movement in my peripheral caught my attention. It was her—Bella. Her head was down and she was walking towards me—okay honestly just down the hall in my direction.

Was she just getting back to the hotel? It was after three and she was still wearing her dress from the party. She stopped five rooms down from mine. Her mask had been removed, and she was carrying her heels in one hand while she searched though a black bag for something with the other.

She didn't notice me, so I just watched her. Now that the mask was gone I knew I was right, pretty wasn't a word to describe her. The delicate features and fair skin made her almost look porcelain. I watched her brows pucker as she searched her back with confusion and I smiled. She looked adorable all disgruntled and frustrated.

I don't know what made her do it, since I know I didn't say anything, but she stopped rustling through her bag and looked in my direction busting me and my creepy watching.

I wanted to kick myself, but for some reason her eyes locking with mine gave me that kick in the stomach feeling anyway. Neither of us said anything, spending another minute or two just blinking at each other from far away.

_She had to think I was a total idiot, _so in a horrible attempt to save face I raised my hand and tossed a single wave her way.

Her brown eyes widened but instead of waving back she looked behind her, like there was anyone else in the hall but us this time of night. _Yes… I'm waving at you… _

Then almost as if she could read my mind, very slowly—she flashed me the most dazzling smile with pink cheeks I'd ever seen and I smiled in return. She opened her mouth to say something, her body turned like she was coming over—but that stupid phone of hers started playing 'wedding march' and she stopped in her tracks. Both of our spells broken she pulled her key out of her bag and with another wave she slipped behind the door.

Feeling like shit I let myself in my own room. Why were we awkwardly lingering in the hall way at three in the morning? My fiancé was behind the door waiting for me. I was getting _married_. And Bella probably had an early morning and was just coming back from burning the night oil to make sure that happened.

I felt like shit. Reminding myself how wrong it was to be happy she acknowledged me and the only thing I should be doing was brushing my teeth and heading to bed.

Laying there, I still couldn't sleep though. I kept thinking about her. No—not in a sexual way in general. My mind ran over the way my parents raved about her, and how she was bonded with Alice and Emmett to the point that she was pretty much another sibling. It was disturbing. Not that she was close to them, but because the entire time I watched them the only thing I could ask myself is why didn't I know her.

That wasn't wrong right? To want to know her. No. She was close to my family so I should make some type of effort to know her. That was the sensible thing. I'd get to know her. Yeah.

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**So that's what I've got so far...what do you think? Worth continuing.. on to something? Or is this too transparent already? Hmm I guess we'll find out. **


	3. Ch3- This girl fell in love in Nantucket

**Okay everyone, thanks for all of the support with the first two chapters. I decided I would continue this story. A couple of things. first being, treulich gefuhrt is the composer of the wedding march (here comes the bride). Second this chapter contains song lyrics. Not in a cheesy way, but in Bellas attempt to connect song lyrics to her personal life just as most of us do at times. I most likely wont happen again. Last.. there is a small ode to Stephanie Meyer in here (it is based on her work after all) Youll notice it when you read it even though its slightly changed. but I hope you enjoy it. Review and subscribe.**

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Chapter 3- This girl fell in love in Nantucket…

_Was I losing it? Did a look at Edward Cullen for longer than a minute make me hear '__Treulich Geführt'_? No, that was the wedding phone—_his_ wedding phone! I found my key and grabbed it, giving him a wave in goodbye before closing the door and putting my back to it.

I didn't answer it until the door clicked behind me—for some insane reason thinking whoever was on the other end would know what I was thinking and judge me for it. "This is Bella…"

Thankfully there was no crisis to meet me, only a quick confirmation with James' first mate Laurent before following through with the adjustments James and I went over. The party went late, just as I expected it to which left James and I in deep discussion until the early morning on how to get the late rising guests to Nantucket before the first event all the while maintaining his regular schedule.

With his not so subtle flirting and the fact that I was too hungry to think; what should have been a quick thirty minutes turned into a daunting three extra hours. After I hung up I let out a long breath, closing my eyes and sliding down the door until I was squatting against it for support.

Being tired was nothing. I was used to that. It was those green eyes I couldn't get out of my head. Giving myself the professional pep talk I had managed to successfully and indirectly ignore him—which was good thing considering the alternative.

If I wanted to get through this weekend I needed to treat him like that guy in the office back home. Sam—that was his name. Sam was one of the hottest guys in the firm, and even though I was pretty sure he was interested I acted like he didn't exist unless my contact with him directly affected my next task. Zafrina hated interoffice dating and the last couple got fired rather publically once she found out. So it was easy to separate it—well that and the fact I had a boyfriend.

_Jake!_ I had completely forgotten about Jacob. Sure our relationship was on a decline, and I would most likely be ending things based on his behavior once I got back home, but becoming the one thing he'd been accusing me of for over a year wouldn't help things.

Not that I thought sleeping with Edward Cullen was a possibility—he was days away from being married and from the looks of things happily taken. It was a fantasy. He was the type of guy you dreamed about marrying when you were eight and forced Barbie and Ken to walk the aisle a thousand times in faux matrimony. Back when innocence kept you from realizing that simple truth that most pale, freckle faced frizzy haired girls don't magically grow up to have a perfect body, shiny blonde tresses, and skin of cream.

My freckles did manage to fade over the years, and with products galore my frizz is nonexistent but I definitely wasn't Barbie—or even her brown haired well-proportioned best friend Teresa. Then I remembered my glimpse of Edward's fiancé and groaned.

She was the reminder that some girls do in fact grow up to be Barbie. She was enchanting, her strawberry blonde hair straightened to perfection in her black and gold cocktail dress that was only tight enough to show the hint of the plentiful curves I had no doubt were lurking below.

I almost blanched when she hugged me feeling instantly like crap. She was so nice when she greeted me having no clue that I was secretly lusting after her fiancé. And she was English! _Really_ English. Her cockney accent capered around every word she spoke making it almost sound like she were reciting Shakespeare than just thanking me for a job well done.

Then when she returned at her fiancé's side—I got it—they fit—and I needed to shake myself out of my hypnosis because there was no way in hell Edward Cullen wasn't _made_ for Tanya Hughston. Everyone knows that Ken and Barbie get the happy ever after right? So I kicked myself back to sense and made some excuse to direct my attention to working hoping Alice or Em didn't sense my need to flee. I shouldn't have lingered with the Cullen's as long as I did anyway—I wasn't a guest.

Even after I snapped back into work mode, I still found myself finding silly excuses to steal glances at him throughout the night as the party went on. Each time I wished I didn't because with every peek and casual glimpse in their direction it only reiterated my thoughts from earlier.

He was finally out of my mind when I stumbled into the hotel and dragged my feet to my room too tired to keep my head up let alone think. While I impatiently searched for my key card, debating on whether or not to just dump the contents of my bag on the ground, a gnawing feeling crept into the back of my mind.

There was almost, an itch between my shoulders, pulling me to look up. Giving into my body's instincts, I let my head lift and my eyes trace the path to where the pull was coming from leaving me face to face with Edward Cullen standing in front of his room a few doors down the hall.

It was ridiculous, because I knew I had no proof that he had been watching me, and he could have honestly just gotten there—based on the flash of surprise in his eyes he probably just did get there— but I didn't _feel_ that was the case. I didn't want to I suppose.

So I stole two minutes of time to live in the fantasy that he'd been watching me, waiting for me so he could talk to me. Even though I was tired I'd shake it off because he'd walk over to me and extend an invitation to grab a drink at the restaurant downstairs where we'd talk about anything and everything because we didn't want the night to end and the energy between us was charged to a level too dangerous to stay away from each other.

He gave me a weak smile and a wave and fear hit me. I'd been staring too long without any type of greeting. For all I knew, he could have not been waving to me at all. Someone could have came up behind me and I was only about to embarrass myself further by waving back. So I checked, covering my bases.

We were alone. _He was waving at me_. _What do I do? Say something you simpleton._ When I looked back up at him, he had this look on his face, I didn't know how to describe. Some teasingly coy sideways smirk that brought heat to my cheeks. _Yeah…me…no one else was here_. So I smiled unknowingly letting myself slip deeper into the fantasy that Edward Cullen was actually interested. Daring myself to make the first move to invite him downstairs for a drink before last call, I stepped a foot forward, and for a second I thought he had turned to meet me halfway.

Then wedding music halted my steps, and I was reminded of _who_ Edward was—who _I_ was, and got out of that situation before I could even start it.

"Come on Swan…just get through the weekend." I ordered forcing myself to stand and get ready for bed, or at least get out of my dress.

Pulling myself into bed I let out a moan of delight, not realizing how much I needed to lie down until I was actually between the sheets. Making sure I set my alarm was the last responsible thing I did before letting sleep take me so that I could do it all again tomorrow.

—

"Wait, wait! We can't pull off yet!" Alice insisted when the sound of the horn announced that we were casting off. "Half of our guests aren't on board."

I grabbed her before she could go hunt the Captain down and take the wheel. "It's covered Allie, we worked in a second trip for the one's arriving late."

"What would I do without you, Bella?" She sighed letting herself relax.

"Probably die from a stress induced heart attack," I guessed leaning against the rail letting the wind blow through my hair.

I stopped after two seconds once my hair started whirling all over the place. Realizing that hair only blew sexily in one direction in movies, I quickly whipped it up in a clip out of my face.

"You have to make sure you look off in the direction you're heading," Rosalie laughed and instructed, leaning over the rail beside me, turning her head so she could talked to me and prove her point.

Not only did it blow perfectly, her golden hair caught the sun making it shine even more. "I hate you," I snipped honestly more embarrassed that she knew what I was trying to do than I was jealous that it was so natural for her.

Rose just shrugged and smirked, like my words didn't matter. "You can't hate me. I've already let you in. I bite people when they don't love me anymore…ask Emmett."

"No kinky fuckery talk," Alice shuddered standing up on the rails so that she could lean over too. "See, if you keep your hair short it doesn't matter which way you face. Try it." She yanked the clip out before I could protest sending my hair everywhere.

It took me a minute to find the right angle for my neck but when I did I understood what she meant. I put my hair back up so I didn't look stupid while trying to talk to both of them, but they did no such thing.

"I can't believe how pretty it looks out today…hell was howling two days ago." Rosalie thought aloud. She was right, the sun was high and the water was calm. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and if things went right there wouldn't be for the rest of the weekend.

Alice agreed, "Hell is taking a break for now. My bro is getting his wedding."

"The breakfast bar is set up if you're hungry. We have a good two hours before we dock in Nantucket." I announced trying to remind myself that I was there for work. We were heading to the actual wedding location now.

Every event on the itinerary including the wedding and reception would be on the island.

"I know, I have Emmett snagging us some food," Rose assured with complete confidence that he would be back soon.

Almost on cue we heard his voice. "Hair blowing sexily in the wind? I _swear_ I remembered marrying an adult."

She turned around slowly, opposite the wind so that her hair wouldn't mess up and stepped away from the rail with a smug look on her face, "It hooked you didn't it?"

He was balancing plates in his hands and forearms with none other than Edward doing the same behind him.

"Good job last night, Bella." Emmett complemented letting Alice and Rose take theirs before heading to the closest table on the deck.

"Thanks," I grinned offering to give Edward a hand so that he didn't drop anything. "Here…let me."

"Thank you," He breathed following me over to the table to sit them down.

"Where's Tanya?" Alice inquired as she sat down to dig in.

Edward didn't hesitate in his response, "Eating with a few of her bridesmaids. I thought I'd eat with you all if that's alright?" I didn't sit, even though it was very clear that the spot on the bench next to him and the food in front of it were for me. He frowned looking up, "You aren't joining us?"

I almost groaned when I heard the faint traces of an accent. Something he obviously picked up after being in Cambridge for seven plus years. Not trusting myself, I shook my head. _Barbie_—_Ken_—_Barbie_—_very taken Ken_—_Boyfriend back home!_

Emmett scoffed in disbelief, "Come on Bella, eat with us."

His voice didn't have the same effect on me so it wasn't hard to respond vocally, "I need to make a few rounds, make sure everyone has what they need." I lied with apology.

Alice felt bad, "I didn't know it'd be this much work. I don't want your whole weekend to be running around. Just let me scarf this down and I'll come help you with whatever you're doing."

Now it was my turn to feel bad. This was easy compared to working with Zafrina. I just needed to be away from Edward and now Alice was blaming herself. I shook my head, "No stay, eat, spend time with your brother—"

"—Screw my brother," She huffed waving off the idea. Rosalie and Emmett chuckled in harmony.

I blinked trying to remind myself that she wasn't actually giving me permission, and refused to respond right away too afraid I'd blurt out, _That's the problem I want to._

Edward was hiding his amusement in an attempt to appear offended, "Gee, thanks Alice."

Alice rolled her eyes, her voice turning into that adorable pouty whine that made her get her way. "Oh you know what I mean. This entire weekend is about you, and I'm all for you, you know that. But I'd like Bella to be able to sit with me and have an actual meal. I haven't seen her since graduation Edward."

"I understand," Edward agreed patting the corner of the bench next to him. "Sit, eat. I insist."

_You insist!_ _Oh Edward, don't insist things like that._ I reminded myself of Jacob one more time, knowing I'd have nothing but impure thoughts the minute we were in close proximity of each other. "You know I would if I could Allie. And it's okay, I don't have to return to Sacramento until Thursday, so I can linger around a few days after the wedding if Esme and Carlisle will have me. Maybe an all-girls shopping trip, Emmett maybe you can show me the plans for the house you and Rose are building?"

Very much liking that idea Emmett lifted a hand to stop me, "Mom and Dad would love to have you, plus that saves me from being dragged around South Cape Village after the farewell brunch."

"Fine, you can go if you're going to stick around after the wedding," Alice surrendered no doubt mentally trying to plan things for us to squeeze in before I head back.

Rosalie just continued eating, "I don't see why you're both giving her such a hard time. She's trying to be a professional, you'd be crept out if a normal wedding coordinator sat down and had breakfast with you."

"Thank you," I gestured at her in agreement.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Bella's family."

"And my _bestest _friend." Emmett declared flashing Alice a wicked grin.

I pinched the bridge of my nose because I knew what was coming next. Alice was always territorial when it came to her friends. Probably because most of her friendships ended from the girls falling for one of her older brothers and their charm—mainly Emmett.

Even though that definitely wasn't going to happen and she knew that long ago, she still wasn't up for sharing. Her voice became this high pitched squeak of frustration and she reached across the table and started flicking him at lightning speed to no end, "She's _my_ friend Emmett Cullen and you can't have her."

"Ow—Allie—stop—Rose," He protested, and I had to commend them for their ability to keep their exchange low and subtle. Probably from years of pushing each other's buttons in public growing up.

But Rosalie was too amused by the show to give any assistance. "That's what you get for poking at the hive."

She stopped after about the hundredth and straighten back up in her chair. Edward looked up at me, apologetic for their behavior. "Cullen's don't share very well."

Didn't he know that I was no stranger to the Alice and Emmett show down? This was about as routine as me washing my hair. "I'm used to it. I know the history."

"Serves him right if you ask me," Rosalie smiled on, "What kind of guy seduces his little sister's friends? There aren't enough girls in the world that you had to pick young and impressionables?"

It was amazing how confident she was, how she could so easily discuss his past with women and not even cringe.

Alice agreed, "I'm telling you, it started with flirting in high school, that walking around with no shirt thing when he came home on visits, and the minute they were legal, none of my friends were safe. He'd hit and run and they'd never speak to me again. Bella's been my only consistent friend in the entire four years of college."

"Not my fault," Emmett argued going back to his food. "They couldn't stay away from my handsome face and enticing conversations. I'm surprised Bella's fought the urge all this time, I'm telling you she isn't wired right." My face flashed hot and I leered at him, "Oh see, look at that blush, I still got it."

Rosalie smirked, "Yes because you _so_ thought you were losing it until now."

I never saw Emmett in that way, and I was pretty sure it was the same for him so I knew he was joking. Once I recovered my color I managed a teasing smile of my own, "But aren't you glad I did? What we have now is _so_ much more. Besides, _no one_ one-night stands me." Alice let out a low howl, and Rose laughed.

"Shame on you for trying bro," Edward amusingly scolded including himself in the conversation. I got so caught up in the banter that I'd forgotten he was still there.

Alice scoffed, "Like _you_ were any better." She put her elbows across the table to confide in me, "Where Emmett made my college years a living hell, this guy took over my high school years. I had girls trying to befriend me just to be close to him."

"But I didn't bite," He rushed quickly to his own defense glancing up at me no doubt wondering if I'd judge him. _That voice…_ Yeah I was way too busy mentally swooning to care about what he did in high school.

Emmett snorted, "Ha! Stephanie…"

"Okay one girl," He adjusted quickly.

Alice met him with another name, "Gwen."

"Okay two, but I know for a fact that was it." He insisted resolved.

Alice threw her hands up like that was the point, "They were my bf's in high school." And she flicked him once for the memory.

I giggled but tried to cover it up. "Alice put away your flicking finger."

She let out a relieved breath, "Yes, after eight years of hell, with this one married now and this one _about_ to get married I can _finally_ do just that. Here's to matrimony."

She reached out to grab a drink, but there weren't any at the table. Which was my cue to get to work. "I've got to split, but I'll send a server over here with grapefruit juice." I promised pulling out the wedding phone so that I could pretend to be busy.

Edward reached a hand out to get my attention, and I pulled away from the spark of him touching my wrist. He stared at me in shock for a second but apologized, "No—"

"I know you don't like grapefruit juice" I finished just wanting to be out of there, "I'll send over an orange juice." He looked surprised so I explained, "It's in the notes." And with that I left them to their meal.

Once I directed a server their way and specified that there should be at least one orange juice on the tray I headed upstairs to escape. I didn't really have to do anything, that's why I stayed up late the night before, but I knew I needed to get away from that entire situation.

The closer I was to Edward Cullen the more likely I was to do something stupid. Not sure what that stupid thing would be but I'd do it and it'd change everything. The more I was around him, the more my feelings shifted from want to need. Of course when I saw him I wanted him, who wouldn't?

But somehow and for no real explainable reason every second I was in his presence, I _needed_ to be close to him. Like some invisible rope tugged at my body, I was way too aware of him than a normal person should be.

_Jacob_! _Sam!_ I reminded myself sitting on the upper deck, choosing a bench that gave me a view of the four of them below me. Rosalie said something, and I watched his face light up with a smile in response and my heart sank.

I wanted to talk to him, I wanted my words to be the reason he lit up like that. _No you want to _not be stupid_ Bella._ _He's getting married._ My mind snapped before I could get too carried away. _Treat him like Sam._

I could see him laughing and wished I was close enough to hear it."Screw Sam." I muttered to myself. That philosophy was pointless, because Sam Uley didn't hold a candle to Edward Cullen. Nor a quarter of the attention which said a lot—mainly that the Sam rules didn't apply and new rules were needed.

Complete avoidance. That was the new rule. That was the only rule that could get me through this weekend.

"Hello Bella," James greeted behind me making me whip around.

He was dressed more casually today in khakis and a while polo, his dirty blonde hair doing that breeze blowing thing that only naturally attractive people could effortlessly master. _Was there a seminar for this type of thing_? It was getting ridiculous.

I smiled back at him, "Hi James, shouldn't you be off steering the ship?"

"Laurent's got it covered," He explained with a chuckle coming to take a seat next to me. "You left this in the Captain's Quarters and I thought you might need it, and this..."

He offered me the black wedding book, with a boxed blueberry muffin and lidded coffee cup. Yes it was exactly what I needed. Work. A physical reminder to keep my head clear. Oh and food, definitely food. "You are a Godsend James. Thank you." I praised taking it from him.

The cup was cold to the touch and I took a sip looking up at him, "Orange juice? That's deceiving."

"I would have brought you coffee but I wasn't sure how you took it." He admitted with a slight blush sitting next to me. "And you never sit still enough for me to figure out anything about you."

"That's me…busy busy," I muttered probably sounding pained.

There was a pregnant pause, he attempted to fill. "So… what are you doing after we dock in Nantucket?"

I waved the book at him for an answer. "Pesky work stuff."

He decided to stop hinting. "Well after the second trip, I'm free for the night. Would you like to join me for dinner?"

"I have to supervise events all day. At three there's the barbecue, and after that there's a movie under the stars." I listed off knowing I wouldn't be wrapped up until at least eleven.

He chuckled catching the hint, "You never stop do you?"

"Not when I'm working." I admitted with a sigh the ring of my phone making me jump. It'd been over a day since I heard the music of my actual cellphone. "And that would be my boyfriend." I sighed reading the caller id.

He stood up, "Say no more, Bella. I'll catch you later."

I thanked him again for the muffin and the juice and waited until he was gone to send the phone to voicemail. I wasn't actually going to talk to him. I just needed to get the point across that I had one.

I put my iPod in my ears and nibbled on my muffin while I tried let myself get absorbed in the details of someone else's fairy tale. It didn't pull me in at all, doing the opposite, I ended up looking over the pictures wondering why it was so easy for me to turn down obvious advances from James, and couldn't get the made up signs of Edward Cullen out of my head.

One of my favorite songs from Death Cab came up in the shuffle, and I frowned. For some reason interpreting the lyrics a lot differently than I did before. Like, maybe they weren't about the singer wanting to send out positive vibes into the universe and discover himself. Maybe the upbeat guitar riffs were a way to mask the struggle of something more. Maybe he was torn with a choice.

_**I want to live where soul meets body**__**  
**__**And let the sun wrap its arms around me,**__**  
**__**And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing**__**  
**__**And feel... feel what it's like to be new.**_

Possibly, he was longing for the excitement that comes with the feeling of making love to someone new.

_**'Cause in my head**__**  
**__**There's a Greyhound station**__**  
**__**Where I set my thoughts**__**  
**__**To far-off destinations**__**  
**__**So they may have a chance**__**  
**__**Of finding a place where they're**__**  
**__**Far more suited than here.**__**  
**_  
Just maybe, he acknowledged his fantasy, and accepted that it was all it could ever be. How sometimes he goes into dreamland where he can live in the fantasy for a while because to try and think of it as a reality is not quite as wonderful; because to have an affair comes with consequences.

_**I cannot guess what we'll discover**__**  
**__**When we turn the dirt**__**  
**__**With our palms cupped like shovels,**__**  
**__**But I know our filthy hands**__**  
**__**Can wash one another's**__**  
**__**And not one speck will remain.**_

To venture into such an affair would taint them both, but they will be justified because their intentions are pure. After all, the affair isn't just about sex, it is a meeting of soul and body. It is a dream of a heavenly and earthly union between the two. Like maybe it's acceptable if the object of his fantasy is someone he feels a very strong spiritual and emotional connection to. Like the one I felt with Edward… The one that he shared with _Tanya._

No, I needed to focus on the facts, not my mixed up interpretation of a song. I had to deal with Jacob, and this wedding. The volume wasn't so high that I couldn't hear the deep voice calling my name off to the left.

"Bella…"

This was it, I had to tell him. I had to get it out there and I had to make it clear. On the slight chance that he was interested, he'd steer clear away from me if he knew I had someone back home. So without thinking and before I could talk myself out of it, I pulled my headphones out of my ears and looked in the direction with a very matter of fact, "I have a boyfriend."

There were two problems with my random announcement. One being there was no real strength behind it, the words _asked_ if I had a boyfriend instead of stating a fact. The second being, I wasn't talking to Edward—oh Edward was there, and Alice, _and_ Rose, but it was Emmett that had called my name.

I wanted to cover my face, but instead I just blushed staring at a surprised and amused Emmett that decided to play it off as a joke, "And I have a _wife_…so I think we're good."

"I thought you were someone else," I admitted in an exhale.

Rosalie jumped on it, "Do tell. What side of the guest list is he on, bride or grooms? Hopefully the Cullen side, then you'll be family."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Bella's already family. Was it the Captain, that James guy? I saw him come up here earlier."

"He brought me a muffin and juice, nothing big. It's nothing, drop it." I insisted wanting to brush off the embarrassment.

Alice wasn't letting it go, "Are you sure it wasn't the captain, because I saw him at the party and you were right, he was totally checking out your ass—"

"Allie," I hissed surprised it didn't pass out so much blood rushed to my face at once. "No, I wasn't talking about him, let it go. He's nice."

Emmett took it another way his eyes narrowing to examine me, "Is one of these assholes not getting a hint? Let me know and I'm more than willing to make sure he catches it."

"Forgive my brother, he's always searching for a reason to go Neanderthal on someone." Edward chuckled and apologized.

I dismissed the apology, "I think it's sweet." I corrected turning back to Em, "No I'm okay, trust me, I'd tell you if I wasn't."

My regular phone started singing Right Round by Flo Rida and I rolled my eyes silencing the ringer and sitting it down beside me. Emmett raised an eyebrow, "Is that the boyfriend?"

I nodded and he dove for the phone, I impressed myself by being quicker. "Emmett no, you're only going to rile him up more."

"He's on my list Bella…" Emmett gave up for the time being.

I nodded, "I know, and I think I'm going to take your advice. So can I have these few days with my _bestest_ friend, his sister, and his wife without thinking about it?"

"Not you too," Allie fumed, but it got the effect I was hoping for. A distraction from everything else. The horn sounded again shutting us all up. "We're _here_."

Emmett and Rose started planning the best route to get to their bags before the rush and I was assuring them they'd be sent directly to their rooms and not to worry about it. And with a few quick hugs I sent them off. Without looking at Edward I read off his instructions telling him where the car would be to drive him and Tanya to the resort, I stole a glance when he didn't respond. He was staring off towards the dock, almost wistful. "Mr. Cullen are you okay?"

"Edward…" He breathed turning back to me.

His green eyes hypnotized me for a minute and I forgot what I was saying. "What?"

"Edward—call me Edward." He insisted softly that small accent almost caressing the words. "That's my name, Bella."

I swallowed hard wondering if he could hear my heart. "Sorry," I sputtered quickly looking down. "I keep forgetting how uncomfortable it must be for me to be so casual with your family and so estranged with you. I guess—" I blinked the thought away and shook my head.

"What were you going to say?" He insisted lightly.

I shook my head again, but found more subtle words to explain my thoughts, "I guess with you being my client in a way… and me being friends with Alice and Emmett…It's hard to figure out where the line should be—you know with how I interact with them versus you. I just didn't want you or Tanya to feel like I'm not taking this seriously or I'm using it as an excuse to play around."

Being alone with him, and so close on top of that was confusing me. One of my hands tightened around the book and the other my cellphone trying my best to look anywhere but in his eyes despite the fact they were pulling me to do the opposite.

He turns to face me, and it's almost like he's towering over me—closer than before. I look up to find his eyes again, and there's such intensity in them that for a moment—I think he's going to kiss me.

Or maybe it's just me. _Great_. I was doing so well earlier with the staying away thing, where was that courage now? Or the people? Was no one going to come up to the second deck? We were about to dock, so of course not. I was stuck in this passionate eye lock with no one to keep me from doing something stupid like kissing him. I wanted to kiss him.

"Nobody thinks you aren't serious about this. You're doing a great job." He compliments, his eyes still locked on mine. It's a powerful thing—looking into someone else's eyes at such close range. Even more intimate, in a way, than kissing itself. I felt more vulnerable, like Edward Cullen was looking _into_ me and was able to read all of the things I had been trying to hide and suppress since I met him.

It felt like he could read every want, fear, and insecurity about him. I wanted to just make the first move and go for the kiss, but there was that fear that I was reading things wrong, and if I read it wrong it'd ruin everything. Hell, if I read him right it'd still ruin everything.

I wanted to flinch away or divert my eyes but his gaze held me. Trying to focus and read his eyes I saw traces of worry behind them, longing on the surface, and just a glimmer of hope around the iris. He was just as exposed as I was. "Besides… I can understand more than anyone… the trouble with finding the line…."

My eyes widened, and I got a feeling he wasn't talking about the family professional line I was referring to. He leaned in a fraction closer and I straightened up waiting for him to go at least half way so I could meet him there. Then the horn of arrival sounded again, this time making me jump back slightly.

Edward straightened out closing his eyes and swallowing hard. "I should go…find Tanya." It sounded like he was reminding himself more than talking to me but I nodded anyway watching him turn around and disappear down the stairs without looking back.

—

I only had enough time to catch a ride to Nantucket Hotel and Resort and double check the last minute details of the barbecue. Then I had to run to the East lawn to double check that there would be no issue with the film at seven. Once I made sure both leads had a means of reaching me, I drove back to the docks to start round two of operation 'Ferry to Nantucket'.

Luckily this wasn't going to be a leisure cruise at half speed taking two hours. We hit Cape Cod in just over forty-five minutes. I gave the crew the fresh stack of itineraries and they passed them out with warm smiles. Thirty minutes later, we were setting sail to Nantucket all over again.

James patiently explained to me that the trip back would take a bit over an hour due to something about wind direction I didn't care to listen to. I was just glad it wouldn't drag out. After I made my rounds and made certain everything was up to standard I retired upstairs with James, Laurent and the rest of the crew glad that they were funny enough to make the time pass quickly.

Alice really thought this out activity wise. After the barbecue the guests had a choice to several amenities right on the resort; heated pool, fitness center, hot tub, golf, spa etc. Or the outside resort choices all within walking distance, jet skis, wind surfing, beach, museums, galleries, and wine tastings to name a few.

The galleries and wind surfing sounded amazing, but unfortunately I was heading to the 'movie under the stars'. I didn't have time to over analyze Edward and my interaction earlier that morning because there was too much I had to do. Now I was worried that while I was forced to watch Phantom of the Opera with a scarce crowd of twenty or so others it would all catch up with me.

I lucked out again, because well over half of the guest list showed for the screening, couples sitting on blankets, some in folding chairs but all wanting to watch Gerard Butler kidnap Emmy Rossum giving me the pleasure of running back and forth across the lawn to adjust the refreshment order. With each mini crisis I handled or adverted the thought of Edward Cullen faded with them. Or at least that's what I told myself.

When the movie finished, I hung back to make sure the cleanup was taken care of. Then decided I should take a look at my room I had yet to set foot in.

"Miss Swan," The concierge greeted when I walked into the lobby.

He stood walking around, wheeling my luggage with my key already in hand before I could get to the counter. In a hurry I explained the situation and the time limit I was on and sweet Kyle offered to keep the bag behind the desk until I was ready to claim it and officially check in.

"It's just Bella, Kyle." I corrected with a smile and a tired exhale taking the key from him. "Thank you for doing that, you have no idea how much that means to me."

Kyle just smiled, "Not a problem. You seemed pretty busy."

"Yeah, but all of the events are over for the night, and I have nothing to do tomorrow but supervise so I'm slowing it down." I announced proud of my multitasking abilities.

Kyle took that information in and something changed in his eyes, "Well, my shift is over in an hour, and there's a bar just off the resort if you want to join me for a drink."

What was happening this weekend? Now I was no stranger to advances, but this was the third time I was propositioned in one day. Sadly none of those were from the person I actually wanted to be propositioned by. But he could never proposition me because he was getting _married_ in two days.

I didn't know much about Kyle, but the fact that he was willing to risk getting in trouble for a complete stranger told me he was nice guy. In another world where the very taken Edward Cullen wasn't consuming my mind, and there wasn't already a boyfriend waiting for me back home, and if I wasn't worried about a crisis calling and me being too sloshed to handle it, I would have taken him up on that offer.

But I wasn't that Bella, "I'm sorry Kyle, but even though I'm calling it in early my job is to always be on standby."

"You have a boyfriend don't you?" He guessed, his smile falling a little.

I nodded, "That too."

"Good for him," He nodded moving out of my way and going back behind the desk. "Have a nice night Bella."

I rolled my bag in the direction of my room. "You too Kyle. Take a shot or two for me would you?"

—

I knew calling it in early wasn't going to be as simple as I thought when I rounded the corner to see Alice and Edward talking at the very end of the hall. That wasn't weird, brothers and sisters talked all the time. But the dynamic was all off. Alice kept holding her head down occasionally touching his arm in comfort only for him to pull away.

Something was wrong. Edward was pacing back and forth, running his hand though his hair every few seconds. He was upset—no worse—Edward was _heartbroken_.

What happened? Did something happen with Tanya? Did they split up? Get into a fight? Was someone hurt?

His eyes were slightly misty and he was utterly devastated. My heart sank just watching him from afar. I had to figure out what the problem was, I had to fix it.

Abandoning my bag at the door I walked in their direction, "Alice…Edward…what's wrong?"

Edward froze when he saw me, our eyes locking halting my steps. I wanted to run to him, hold him, comfort him, fix whatever the problem was promise him it'd never happen again.

Alice opened the door to her room and motioned for him to go inside, he complied and I restarted my feet once the connection was broken. She met me half way looking absolutely exasperated, "Now isn't the best time, Bella."

"What's wrong?" I repeated wanting to get right to the point. She looked back at the door, almost debating whether or not she wanted to divulge. "Alice…please."

She nodded pulling me further down the hall and away from her door. "Emmett and Edward are having a disagreement."

I didn't get it. "What kind of disagreement? They seemed okay this morning."

"Emmett is refusing to attend Edward's bachelor party or toast at the reception, and Edward's—well—hurt." She put it plainly.

Of course, the Cullen's were a close family. Having Emmett's blessing would mean a lot to him. "Oh…"

Alice nodded, "Yeah… I don't think Emmett has any idea how much him being included in the wedding _means_ to Edward."

"He looked devastated," I noted, feeling my heart tighten again, making me wince. I could feel my own eyes start to prick in the corners. Was I about to cry? Luckily Alice didn't look up, "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head, "No, I think he's going to just crash here and talk for a bit, maybe watch a bad movie and get his mind off of it. Tanya won't miss him, they're in separate rooms on opposite side of the resort until the ceremony."

"But won't he need her now? I can go get her…" I offered trying to figure out what I needed to do.

She shook her head, "No, it's okay. I don't want him to view her as they reason they aren't getting along. It'll pass, I promise."

"Okay…" I breathed my voice sounding a bit shaky. "Just…take care of him. You two have a rehearsal after breakfast tomorrow."

She smiled sadly but took in the reminder, "I should get back."

I nodded and turned on my heels going into my room wiping my wet cheek in surprise. Why was I crying? Because Edward was upset? Who does that?

No, I had to fix it. But how? Was it even my place? Technically as their coordinator I was require to dissolve potential problems that would make the bride and grooms day less than perfect. But I also knew certain things I wasn't supposed to get involved in, _family_ business was always just that. There were several occasions that I was forced to pretend I wasn't in a room when couples argued and I stood awaiting a decision.

But this is Emmett and Edward? I know the Cullen's. Does that mean I have the right, or have less of a right? If Edward was upset, Emmett couldn't have been much better. What if I didn't fix it and it got worse? What if I tried to fix it and _made_ it worse?

I couldn't think, and this nagging feeling in my stomach wasn't helping things. He needed me, I had to help. _But you don't know him, it's not your place to help. He'd question your motives for even involving yourself. _The logical side of my brain argued with my body.

But I had no indecent motives. Edward was upset, I wanted to make it better, and that's what normal people want to do for the people they love.

_Love?!_ Is that what this is? I love _Edward_? I couldn't love Edward Cullen, he's about to get _married_.

_You're hurting because he's hurting…_ My mind argued. Shut up.

_You gravitate towards him without thinking…_ one half listed off ignoring the other half of my brains protest.

_You forgot about Jacob_… Because he's an _asshole_.

_You can't stop thinking about him…_ Because he's … I don't know but it wasn't love.

_You don't notice any of the men throwing themselves at you since you got here…_ I'm trying to be professional and do a job.

_You thought about the future and saw him in it…_ "But he can't really be in it can he?" I hissed to myself over thinking internally. The side of my brain that was logical, and the part that was a swooning Edward related mess were making me feel like I had bi-polar, or spilt personalities.

I wasn't _allowed_ to love Edward Cullen, which should have been the end of the story. But putting it all together could I really pretend that love wasn't what was happening? Even though I didn't know him, I felt things around him that I didn't feel around anyone else, and I _wanted_ to know him.

Even with all of the anxiousness I felt whenever we were in close proximity, I also felt a sense of contentment. The anxiety was most likely from fighting the urges to connect with him that my body told me were so natural.

Pushing aside the situation and stripping it down to just me and him, isn't that what love is? Fulfillment when they are present and emptiness when they're gone? Okay, than by definition I as in love with Edward Cullen.

The minute that realization hit me, I started to cry. Because as beautiful as love should be, mine wasn't. That was probably why I fought it all, because I knew I couldn't have it. I loved someone that could never and would never love me back. Love sucked. It wasn't fair. What was the point of meeting someone that would change your life forever only for me to not obtain it?

I was hit with another epiphany, maybe I was brought into Edward's life to help give him the one things he wants and doesn't have. Emmett's support. Standing up I forced myself to wipe my eyes. I could cry it out after the weekend, but now I had work to do.

Taking a quick shower to gather a sense of calm, I let the water ease the stress out of my body, and by the time I had padded myself dry I was completely resolved. I got dressed into some casual attire, and in a Zen like state applied makeup so that it didn't look like I'd been crying.

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, I was in love with Edward Cullen. I wasn't quite sure the how's why's and all of the questions but it was true. Second, I would let him live his life happily never divulging that fact—to him or anyone else. And third, I'd give him the one thing no one else could. A perfect wedding to the woman of his dreams.

I made quick work of the guest log finding Emmett and Rose's room number and headed that way without hesitation.

I knocked on the door and was met by a very frustrated Rose, she seemed to relax when she saw me. "Good, maybe you can talk to him." She moved aside and let me in.

Just as I thought, not much better. Emmett was sitting on the couch with his face in his hands tense. "Emmett Cullen, get your shoes. We're going out." I ordered not leaving him room to argue.


	4. Chapter 4- The Day Before

**Hello All. Sorry for the late posting. My computer crashed shortly after uploading chapter three and Dell is going to take their merry time of three weeks minimum to fix it. So, me being the writing junkie that I am wrote this entire chapter from her tablet which took a bit longer than if I had a full range of keys. If they're are many mistakes try not to judge me too hard for it. **

**Another thing, apparently it is necessary for me to put a disclaimer in this story. I do not write in the same fairy tale perfect world that the original twilighters live in. I in no way condone cheating and writing this isn't an attempt to glamorize it. I'm just taking you through a real life situation with the characters you love. If you can't handle the first few chapters than the impending lemon in the next chapter and the chapters to come will really make you angry. I view all reactions as good since at the end of the day my job as a writer is to make you feels something so this is merely a warning for your own sanity. **

**Next thing, This chapter is actually based on choreography a friend of mine did for her little sisters sweet 16, if you'd like to take a look and get an idea of what Bella is describing I posted the link on my twitter. **

**With that being said, I'm also supposed to tell you I don't own twilight. Which is completely redundant in my eyes, but I'll get it out of the way. **

**Now I'm done. **

* * *

Chapter 4- The day before

"You look like you had a long night…" Kyle observed when I walked past the concierge desk the next morning.

Having a long night was an understatement, talking to Emmett had to have been the most difficult task to check off since I got here.

—

We took a cab to the bar just off the resort and without him having to tell me, I ordered four shots of Jaeger. With the day we were having—we shot them both of them back before even saying a word to each other. Then we ordered four more and really got it started.

I let him have a full on vent about why he loathed his future sister-in-law and I tried my best to remain Switzerland as I listened. This was hard to do, because the more Emmett divulged the more I questioned if talking him out of his decision was the best idea. But every time I felt like the signs were too much, I remembered how hurt Edward looked, took another shot, and pressed on.

Emmett Cullen was a very straightforward person who kept everything black and white when it came to decisions. Either committed to one side of the other and strayed away from anything he couldn't wholeheartedly get behind.

So this weekend was taking a toll on him, and I could understand. He hated having a front row seat to watching his brother make a bad decision—in his eyes.

Then to keep things even I shared equal time about my 'soon to be ex' which to my surprise actually helped _him_. We were half way through a round of Jaeger Bombs and advice when I realized, Emmett just wanted to be needed, and it was bumming him out just realizing that Edward wouldn't need him as much.

I reminded him that he would always be Edward's big brother even if he got married a hundred times. I explained that whether he realized it or not Edward still _needed_ him. He was venturing into foreign territory, no doubt having a ton of questions about how to be a husband; and whether he went to Emmett or someone else was entirely up to how he handled the next few days.

I took a shot letting that sink in.

Then he did the unexpected, he asked for _my_ advice on how he should proceed. I told him to go to the stag party, not to celebrate his marriage to the 'ice queen' (as he called her) but to celebrate the next step of his brother's life. Then I suggested he rewrite his toast with the same mentality to keep it diplomatic and probably include an embarrassing Edward story. I even offered to proof read it for him reminding him that family was important and no lady was worth them losing their bond.

He agreed one hundred percent and just when we were ready to close our tab, Jacob called and Emmett was _a lot_ faster this time.

Em's _conversation_ with Jake about how to treat his 'baby sis' made me order a few more rounds, but I didn't try to fight him because he really needed to fix something. And I would rather Jake and Emmett's conversation be by phone than the face to face one he threatened to have with him. (Which I had no doubt he'd follow through with.)

—

We ended up staying until last call, but four hours and a two hundred dollar bar tab later we both felt better.

Well—he felt better because he was no doubt sleeping off his alcohol. I felt like shit because I still had to be up and out by ten for the bridal shower and the rest of the events.

"It _was_ a long night." I admitted, thankful that I was able to appear presentable under the circumstances. I was wearing a charcoal gray suit with a deep blue blouse, shades already protecting my eyes from the harsh sun. They'd stay on for at least another two hours while attending to the event outside. "And now I have a long day."

"What are the odds of you being able to fit in a nap?" He winced feeling sorry for me. He was obviously just getting into work, while I on the other hand had been up for over two hours.

"Not very likely, I'm running to pull a quick dream talk with the bride to be before her shower. Then I have to be present for their dance rehearsal. Catering checks, decoration checks, then the bachelor and bachelorette parties—"

"—I got it," Kyle laughed overwhelmed by my to-do list though he had no obligation to it. "Just, take it slow. You strike me as a person that runs too hard for too long Bella."

"I try not to _run_ anywhere if I can help it," I joked putting the wedding book away in my bag. I started to linger and talk a bit more but the concierge from overnight let out a long irritated sigh.

"I've gotta check in," He apologized narrowing his eyes at the man obviously ready to go home.

"Of course," I nodded in understanding stepping aside for him to pass. "Sorry to keep you."

"No—no trouble," Kyle insisted. "Come back and visit if you have a minute to spare. I'm here from ten til' ten just like last night."

I wouldn't have a minute to spare, but I smiled and nodded anyway. Then forced myself to head out into the bright ten am sun to find Tanya Hughston.

—

Ice queen. Emmett had given her a fitting nickname. Not that she acted that way directly, but I could definitely detect the coolness in those frost blue eyes. On the outside, she was a cheerful, elite, socialite, but underneath she was in-genuine and cold.

My first clue was when I caught up to her before the shower. She was getting a pedicure when I approached and I could detect the false enthusiasm from my interruption, but I dutifully explained that I came to confirm her last minute wedding vision.

That perked her up, her smile playing gracefully on her lips. I asked her to tell me about their wedding theme, her answer being the one I expected. That Edward and her held a long history at the opera and it only made sense that they use their favorite one as a theme.

Then I asked her why she choose a large wedding over a smaller, more intimate ceremony? Her response being that her family had been waiting for this day since she was a little girl and to not include her friends and family would be cheating them out of sharing the experience.

Not to mention that she liked the idea of the world stopping just for her. I smiled at her wink and went on to ask if she could think of anything she didn't like so far. She teasingly laughed and said if she didn't like something it wouldn't be there.

I nodded and asked if there were any traditions her family practiced and if she wanted to incorporate them into the wedding? She told me there were none.

I told her in my experience the day of the wedding tended to be the most stressful for the bride and asked if she had any favorite practices for calming herself?

Her response surprised me, "Tea."

"Tea?" I repeated waiting for her to elaborate.

She nodded, "When I was a little girl my mother and father would take me to China for vacation.

We'd spend our late mornings drinking a special tea...I never remembered the name, just that there was a flower blossom that made you think there was a miniature coral reef bejeweled with orange at the bottom of your cup..."

She was lost in the memory while I jotted down notes to do research later.

"...Since then I've always drank tea. English Breakfast will do though." She shrugged dismissively snapping herself out of it and looking back up at me.

"Okay, what can you tell me about the grooms wedding dreams?" I always asked this question, mainly because people were attuned to their partners needs and wants, most of the time before the person themselves knew it.

"If I had to guess...he'd probably wish for me and my brother in law to get along." She smiled wryly with sarcasm. "But let's go for the obtainable and say a smooth wedding in general."

I frowned behind the safety of my notepad. Of course he'd want that. That wasn't unreasonable at all. They were going to be family in a day she should want that too.

"Earth to Isabella..." Tanya called softly, her accent making my name sound magical.

With a stiff nod and a smile on my face I looked up, clicking my pen closed, "okay one smooth wedding..you got it. I'll leave you to your pampering and see you at the shower..."

—

The shower was held on the same lawn as the 'movie under the stars' the night before, but set up

a lot differently.

Instead of a giant screen and wide open space, there were two open white tents side by side~one— for dining and the other for catering. Arrangements of lily, lilac, and yellow roses were in the center of each table, and there was enough seating for a hundred of Tanya's closest family and friends to attend.

I passed Alice heading to the catering tent and she looked as tired as I felt— I faked it better.

"Hey Bells," She sighed shifting her gift to one hand to rub her check her phone

I instantly felt bad for her. "You look horrible, let me get that Alice." I offered taking the box from her ignoring her resistance.

"Oh I got it Bella, you don't have to—"

"—I'm going to put this on the gift table, _don't move_" I instructed walking quickly back the way I came to put the gift in the designated area. Thankfully she was still in the same place I left her. "Okay I'm back."

She stopped rubbing her temples to smile at me. "Thank you. You didn't have to~"

"—Its nothing." I dismissed with a hand wave, "Now talk to me, How are things?" I wanted to ask "how's Edward' but decided against it.

"We talked all night, he seemed better this morning. More~focused." She answered uncomfortably.

I caught it, "Focused is...bad I'm guessing?"

"Its his _wedding_ Bella, he should be happy, excited—hell Ill take nervous~ but not focused." She confided.

Her gray eyes were filled with so much worry I had to hug her. "It'll work out Alice, just you see." I promised not wanting to give away that I went behind her back to talk to Emmett.

"I hope so Bella," she sighed wistfully.

I let her go, "You brought me in so that you could enjoy Edward's wedding _without_ stress, so _stop stressing._ I need my hyper Alice back or Tanya's bachelorette party will be a dud."

"I'm sleepy," she admitted frowning. "I might need to cut out early and get a nap in before dance rehearsal later."

This party was basically for Tanya anyway, her brothers wouldn't be here and the rest on the agenda was much more important. "Stay for a little while and get out later. No one will miss you. They're going to be a hundred people here." I encouraged.

"Definitely the plan. Mom and Rose are coming, and a few other family members from our side. We just didn't want Tanya to feel like we—" she didn't want to say it. "—You know."

I nodded hearing wedding bells chime from my jacket pocket. "I'll see you at the rehearsal, there's a small catering issue." She let me go with a nod.

Once I _re_confirmed the vegetarian head count I went back to the shower, staying only long enough to say hello to Esme and Rose, make sure the entire guest list was in attendance and having a good time.

Then, after ordering the floor lead to call the wedding phone if there were any issues, I was off to my next stop.

—

"Do you need anything else Miss Swan?" Sarah, the resort's event hostess kindly double checked as she walked with me to my next location—tenth stop so far and it was barely two.

She was probably in her early thirties, and judging by her wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and the stray strands of hair that were falling out of her bun—an even this size wasn't normal for her, and she was stressed to the max.

I slowed my pace to let her catch her breath. "It's just Isabella, we're all the same performers in this circus. Can you just send the choreographer to the Grand Ballroom when she gets here? Other than that I'm good, nothing big."

Her smile matched mine and she stopped all together, "That's it? I'll do it, but I don't see how you're so calm right now Isabella. A wedding I can handle, a bridal shower no sweat, but this wedding _weekend _thing with simultaneous events happening at once and a guest list of three-_fifty_?"

"I know," I nodded empathizing with her. My first few months of working for Zafrina I swore were going to be the death of me. The lists were long, the tasks practically impossible, and Zafrina had this strange idea, that since she _chose_ her team, they were automatically supposed to be attuned to her thoughts and vision. "I've been there. But honestly after an internship full of anxiety and panic attacks, while working for someone that literally refers to herself as a 'soiree virtuoso', things like this seem small. "

"No offense, I hear great things about her, but Zafrina sounds like she's insane," Sarah admitted apologetically.

I didn't understand why she felt she offended me when I wasn't the person she was calling crazy, and Zafrina was in fact—insane. But she also needed to know, "Most geniuses are." I shrugged hoping I was giving off the 'hey what are you gonna do' impression. "Don't stress Sarah, you've asked me if I needed anything, and I don't, so you've done your job. I'll tell the manager that you were more than accommodating."

She liked that thought. "Okay, well you know where to find me if you need anything."

I nodded holding up the wedding phone as a reminder, "Yes I'll ring if there's a problem." I would have said goodbye, but her body was already turned in the other direction and my few minutes of banter threatened to put me behind schedule if I lingered any longer.

The Grand Ballroom was already in the process of being decorated for the rehearsal dinner. Fifty round tables intricately decorated with black and gold, surrounded a large dance floor where dancing for the night was optional.

We could have closed it off with more tables, but with a band coming it seemed criminal to _at least_ offer the option.

I walked around once, just for a casual glance over, and then pulled out black wedding book for my second walk through. I flipped through each picture under the 'rehearsal dinner' tab, comparing the actual result against the original vision and was pleased to see it was all pretty damn close.

"You must be the wedding coordinator," A woman about my age with dark hair and glasses greeted. "I'm Angela, Angela Weber, the choreographer."

Angela Weber could only be described in two words; delicate elegance. She reminded me of Tanya, but completely the opposite at the same time. The woman that kindly extended her hand to me had the same captivating accent as Tanya Hughston,, and only a few inches taller.

Where Tanya had perfectly styled strawberry blonde tresses, Angela's dark brown was almost to the point of black and pulled back modestly from her face. Tanya's skin was a perfect blend of cream and rose, while Angela's complexion held a hint of mocha—like coffee with heavy cream.

Her face was more of an oval shape with brown eyes framed behind a pair of thin black frames.

They both had that perfectly straight posture that emanated confidence and demanded a rooms attention without ever having to ask for it. But Angela, also seemed to hold a sense of grace in her lean limbs despite the fact she was standing perfectly still.

She was wearing a pale pink leotard and black tights that wend to her calf. Her legs, and hips humbly covered by a wrap skirt that stopped at her knees.

I willingly took the hand she extended, "That I am, Isabella Swan."

"Isabella is such a pretty name," She complemented earnestly flashing a white smile. She looked around the ballroom in confusion noticing the workers still setting up. "I must be early—"

"No, you're on time." I promised shaking my head. "I just figured since the wedding was tomorrow, you'd want to have the final rehearsals in the actual space. I made sure they did this are first so you won't get interrupted."

Angela's eyes widened in surprise, "Thank you for that, this is the first time having _everyone_ together since they started learning the dances. The last few months have been traveling between England and here every other week. Hopefully it pays off."

Now it was turn for wide eyed surprised, "That's a lot of traveling."

Angela just waved her hand in a kind dismissal sounding almost like me—but in a much more angelic dialect, "I go where the job takes me."

Gesturing over to the tables and chairs off the dance floor I suggested, "Let's take a seat."

Angela looked down at my my charcoal stilettos and sympathized, "Pardon my rudeness. If I were wearing those I'd want to sit too."

Her heels were low, about two, two and a half inches—a strap across the front, a pink color that matched her leotard. They were obviously meant for ballroom dance and got loads of practice—being a dancer she was probably so used to them that she barely felt them. Lucky girl.

"They're not so bad. Only after spending long periods of time on your feet." I excused sitting down. They didn't hurt yet, and I was determined to avoid that. "So, how was your flight in?" I went on, casually opening the folder and turning to the 'reception' tab finding absolutely _nothing_ about the dance other than the scheduled appointments, and Angela's contact information.

She gave me a wincing smile, "Rainy."

"I think that was everyone's flight," I laughed at her honesty and letting her off the hook, "I'm glad it cleared up for the weekend."

"Yeah, Tanya would have a conniption if it rained," Angela muttered knowingly.

I picked up on it, "Have you known Tanya very long?"

"Since primary school, that's where we met. We lost touch once I left for school in London, but eventually we reconnected." She volunteered matter-of -factly— in no way sounding like they knew each other for years.

"Wow, life long friends," I breathed making Angela's eyes widen and a sirenic laugh escape her lips.

She sobered up on her own once she realized her reaction left me in a state of bewilderment. "Isabella...Tanya doesn't have _friends. _At least not since we were children."

That didn't make sense, "Did you attend the welcome party? The bridal shower? Take a peek at the guest list and thirteen bridesmaids?"

Angela's eyes flashed to the closed entrance of the ballroom and back at me before leaning in, "Okay...one professional to another?

I nodded leaning in ready to listen.

"Like I said, Tanya Hughston doesn't have friends. She has _acquaintances. _She doesn't choose who she's close to based on personality or things in common. More on the lines of hierarchy—who it's more _prudent_ for her to know."

Her news didn't shock really; instead it made me sad, "She has to have at least _one_ friend."

"Her parent put a lot of stress on her to stick to her life plan," Angela shook her head, "We used to be friends, until she left for Cambridge."

That's where Tanya met Edward. "Did her—_fiance_ come between you two?"

She laughed and shook her head again. "No Edwards, a sweetheart. A perfect gentleman...a perfect _God like_ gentleman..." She got lost in though no doubt mentally molesting the groom to be.

I tried not to judge her swooning—after all, I wasn't much better. "So you know the groom too?"

She snapped herself out of her fangirling with a nod. "We met a few years ago at the Opera House. Tanya brought him backstage to meet me after a performance of the Nutcracker. We actually are somewhat friends, emailing occasionally, the three of us meet for coffee when I'm in town."

Opera...ballet...Tanya's a real fan of the arts." I guessed.

Angela rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, "No, that's all Edward. Tanya _knows _opera and theater because her parents are major benefactors for Arts Council England, host a gala three times a year to raise money, and it looks b_etter_ if they attend as a family. Tanya's always found them rather..._humdrum_, even when we were children."

They why have a full on Phantom of the Opera _wedding_? For Edward? Did he _know_ that Tanya hated opera? Obviously not because I couldn't imagine him going through with something she didn't like. "That doesn't make any sense..." I muttered completely confused.

Angela gave me a sinful grin and rolled her eyes. "It makes perfect sense Isabella, Tanya Elizabeth Hughston has spent her entire life learning to assimilate. She associates with whomever is necessary, does whatever is necessary, and acts however it is necessary for her to survive in the world she grew up in."

"You don't like her," I breathed putting it out there.

Angela didn't hide that fact. "No, I do not."

"But you're here...choreographing a dance for her wedding... which you feel is a sham," She had to know how messed up that sounded.

Angela's smile was gone, but her eyes didn't leave mine, "Tanya used to be great, but she's different now, I use to try and hold on hoping the Tanya I grew up with would come back, but I won't apologize for not being able to tolerate the person she's become."

She didn't know me at all, but for some reason I felt like all of this was therapeutic for her. Why was it that people could open up to strangers about things that they wouldn't tell people in their normal day to day lives? Probably because after this wedding I wouldn't see her again, so there was lingering judgment.

I decided to take solace in the fact we were strangers and press further, "So what made you say yes?"

"Tanya wanted the best and I am. I's a principle dancer for Royal Ballet, trained by the academy since the age of twelve, and I have enough talent to actually _create_ rather than just copy the moves other choreographers dictate. When the Opera House has Expeditions, I preform or choreograph my own pieces." She answered back to her normal kind, but matter of fact tone.

My eyes widened in shock, that was amazing. I couldn't imagine what type of dedication it would take to achieve everything that she has already and she didn't look much older than me. "That explains why _Tanya_ wanted you here, not _why_ you're here."

Another melodic laugh left her lips and she tilted her head back and clapped. If I took a freeze frame of her, she'd look like one of those magazine ads —the kind where the company tried to sell their product by showing how happy the people using it at a party were—like Disaronno or Tanqueray. "I like you Isabella, are you always this—straight?"

"I try to be," I smiled, but waited for her to answer.

She gave me a wistful sigh, "Well, I want to start my own company some day, the kind where it's not _who_ you know that gets you auditions, but actual talent. I lucked out enough that my dad could afford all of my years at the Academy and it earned me a hint of prestige that allowed my talent to be seen. But, looking around now, I've seen a lot of younger girls that aren't so lucky."

Her smile fell and her docile light tone was replaced with a melodic lullaby laced with conviction., "Amazing dancers that could rival me, are limited to waving a rose in the background and holding arabesques."

I nodded to let her know that I was listening, too absorbed by her passion to form words.

"And honestly, with what' I'm being paid to travel, choreograph, and be at Tanya's beck and call; I can at least move to the states, open up a studio, and get started without having to ask my parents for the money."

I couldn't help my smile, because she revealed so much about herself in such few words. Not only was Angela Weber kind, and hardworking, she was _good. _I was starting to like her, very much. "I can respect that."

"That...and well..._Edward_ said that it would mean the world to him," She tilted her head down to look at me over her glasses and waggle her eyebrows sinfully, "And I'm _more_ than willing to accommodate anything Edward Cullen needs..."

Okay, maybe I didn't like her all that much anymore.

"Oh your face is priceless Isabella," she tittered poking smacking me on the arm with the back of her hand like we were already friends. "Are you shocked I find him attractive? Or are you shocked that I'm saying it aloud? I mean it has to be the latter because you have seen him, correct? You _have_ to agree."

"He's getting married, and he's my client," was my only response, letting my eyes fall to the wedding book like I was actually interested in it. She was right, I was shocked. Not by her finding him handsome, but at how freely she was able to say it. I couldn't even say it that freely and I already came to terms with the fact that I loved him.

I was also thankful that shock was the emotion that decided to register on my face and not the territorial scowl of jealousy that I was also feeling at the time. Probably because my mind and body knew that such a reaction was ridiculous—he wasn't mine. I had to remind myself not to get into this argument with myself again, especially since Angela was responding to my statement and I needed to pay attention. "Oh Isabella, that doesn't mean he's off limits for looking, it just mean's we're not allowed to touch. Besides, it's not like he notices anyone other than Tanya." She sighed. Not really in a longing way, like she wanted to be with him, more like a regretful feel sorry for him type of way.

He noticed me.

At least, I think he did.

My head snapped up to make sure that I didn't echo my thoughts out loud. Angela was absorbed in her phone and didn't look up at me until she heard my sigh of relief when I realized my monologue remained internal.

"So, tell me about this dance," I decided, shaking off my feelings to focus on the wedding.

She got back to business too, "Well, it's not, _a_ dance. It's actually three back to back totaling about fourteen minutes."

"Really, that's pretty long." I breathed honestly.

She smirked kindly, but explained the process, "Well not to the ones dancing it and I count on the guest being too caught up in the movements of the songs to really notice. After all, the loveliest moments seem to last an eternity, whether they're a minute or a hundred leaving us with the same feelings of absence when they're over."

"That's romantic." And beautiful. Also ironically insightful to my situation.

Angela just gestured her hand around the ballroom, "This is a wedding."

"True," I laughed feeling that ball in my stomach again. "So do these dances mean anything in particular."

"The first song is 'Masquerade' from the Phantom of the Opera itself. It's only danced by the bridesmaids and groomsmen, an introduction to the new couple. Are you familiar with the song?" She wondered crossing her legs—our talk more conversational than business like.

The cheerful melody and catchy lyrics started playing in my head the minute she said the word. All of the songs from the movie had been stuck in my head since I watched it. I decided to underplay my knowledge a bit. "I saw the movie last night, and I think I heard a few other times."

"Well it's a fun, let's get the party started, type of casual promenade. It will remind you of the scene in the movie definitely." Her smile was infectious.

"That sounds like fun." I was eager to hear about the rest, "What about the second dance?"

Angela's hands started gesturing to direct her vision, "Edward and Tanya will enter and the main doors, and joint the bridal party in the center and they will dance a song from the Swell Season. Edward chose it, it symbolizes the first day he actually met Tanya. In the right lighting and the movements of that waltz will bring you to tears."

"I'm sure it will," My mind was going through my limited knowledge of the band, wondering which song he chose. I was anxious to see it, to hear it, because it gave me a tiny glimpse into Edward's mind as well as his feelings for Tanya.

She went on without me having to ask this time, "The third one, is back to Phantom of the Opera. It's Tanya and Edward's first dance together and the bridal party won't be included. It's Music of the Night, the phantom's seduction of Christine."

"That's sounds so beautiful..." I agreed sounding more sad than I probably meant to.

She noticed it and her brown eyes flashed with genuine concern, "Are you alright Isabella?"

I waited, long enough for the words to be true when I said them, "I—"

"It's dancin' time!" One of Edward's groomsmen shouted, and you could hear him long before the large ballroom doors swung open. It wasn't one of his Cambridge friends that was for sure, I deduced that from the lack of accent.

Angela rolled her eyes watching Riley run into the ballroom with about nine other groomsmen on his heels. They were all laughing, and rowdy—obviously still juiced from the football game they played earlier. She started to go to them, but turned back looking really worried, "Ignore them, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" I swore urging her to go on, "go you have work to do. I'll just hang out here."

She nodded, and raised smoothly from her seat, walking so gracefully that you couldn't hear her feet. "Gentleman, I'm glad to see that you're so excited about the art of dance, but tone it down. Voices echo in open spaces and what is my rule?"

One of Edward's Cambridge friends dully recollected, "When we dance our bodies talk for us."

"Good job Alistair," She praised and teased at the same time but obviously managed to settle them all down.

She had my full attention after that. I watched her instruct the boys to change into the shoes they'd be wearing for the wedding, and they were doing just that when a group of bridesmaids walked in with similar musical laughs.

They all listened to her, go over the plan for the rehearsal, and promised that she wouldn't keep them longer than they needed to be there so she hoped they practiced like they were supposed to.

Alice trained in with her cousin Tyler and a few other straggles. She beamed when she saw me, practically jumping up and down as she waved.

I grinned and waved back, happy to see that she was no longer the zombie I ran into earlier, then pointed for her to pay attention. She smacked her head like she forgot where she was and nodded before running back over to her partner.

Edward and Tanya weren't there yet, but Angela had already started counting off eights, clapping to keep them in rhythm as the party practiced walking around to study each other their frames. She adjusted their postures, and poses when needed but I was shocked to see they didn't require much assistance.

"When are we going dance to the music?"A stunning woman with frost blonde hair asked, obviously bored with Angela's counting guidance.

Angela ignored her and continued to count two more sets of eight before turning back at her, "When I can no longer hear your feet dragging across this marble—pick your feet up. Each step makes it's own noise and if it isn't in sync with the music I'm sure you won't want to explain that to Tanya."

Irina leered at her but turned back to focus on her partner, making an effort to pick up her feet while Angela just turned smugly back the way she came and continued to count.

"One, two, three,four—and five sick, seven and eight. Up one, two, three and four—pivot, five six, seven and—Edward, Tanya, finally you two decided to join us!" Angela greeted walking over and bringing attention to their entrance. Oddly enough, the crew kept practicing even after she abandoned the counting.

Tanya's smiled as she gave her a greeting no one else heard, before kissing the air on both sides her face. Edward gave her this smile that probably made her internally swoon as he said his hello's—not that she showed it. They hugged and exchanged a few more words than her and Tanya did, the smile staying plastered on her face despite the fact her eyes flashed to Edward and Angela each time one of them spoke. Then it all ended with a clap of Angela's hands, and three winsome laughs of three different octaves, but still fluid. Like the harmony of a soprano, alto, and baritone.

"Okay everyone, now that the bride and groom are here, we're going to go through the dance in it's entirety, first with me counting and if they're no mistakes I'll move on to the music." No one needed to respond, and she sent Edward and Tanya out of the ballroom again, this time to wait for their entrance.

I watched the dance as a whole picture, but since I actually knew the tiny girl in the front I found myself watching her more than the others.

Dancing at clubs and parties was more of Alice's preference, so I didn't expect her to master the steps so easily but there she was, focused on Tyler and dancing as elegantly as the other girls, and no doubt some of them had actual dance experience.

I tried to wave and get her attention as she twirled past me, but she was too focused to notice me. I would've killed to know what was going through her mind, because Alice was normally everywhere at once.

"In walks the bride and groom—five, six, seven, eight." Angela counted off once the group twirled into their 'V' formation, with hands extended to the entrance of the door.

The doors opened and in they walked, holding hands like couple from the eighteenth century. Their steps measured, and timed perfectly.

He was wearing a basic polo and khakis along with his wedding shoes, but he looked ravishing. The set of his face wasn't quite right though., I couldn't tell from so far away, but he looked, pissed off. Well maybe not pissed off—maybe annoyed.

Now what was wrong? Did Emmett change his mind? Did him and Tanya have a disagreement? I wanted to know but I couldn't ask any of my questions.

Apparently Angela noticed his expression too, calling him out without hesitation, "Smile Edward, this is the first time you introduce Tanya _Cullen_ and not Tanya Hughston.."

He shouldn't have noticed me at the tables so far in the back, but feeling that same magnetic pull from a few nights ago, his eyes found mine. My eyes were locked on his, and the faintest of smiles flashed across his lips, and I smiled back. Needing to break the connection before anyone else noticed it I glanced back down at the wedding book, pretending to take notes on what was going on.

"That's better." Angela praised none the wiser.

I didn't look much after that, but I could feel that same pull as I drew scribbles on a blank sheet of paper I hid in between the pages of the binder to appear busy. It was harder than I thought to ignore Edward Cullen. Like holding your breath. As much as you tell yourself you _need_ to not inhale, and you _have_ to hold that breath in; every natural instinct fights it. Eventually you burn internally until your body forces you to indulge whether you want to or not.

Then I heard my name being called from the dance floor in the center, "Isabella come up here will you?"

I was lost looking up to see Angela waiving for me while the entire bridal party stood looking my way. Something was up. I stood and hurriedly made my way between the labyrinth of chairs to the dance floor. "Do you need something Miss Weber?"

Angela laughed throwing her arm over my shoulder. "Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, you can drop the _Miss_." I looked over to see Alice rolling her eyes at my professionalism again. I reminded myself to flip her off later. "But, I _do_ need your help with something. We're about to walk through with the music for the first time, and _I_ would like _you_ to be our first audience member."

"Sure." I shrugged wondering why she needed to call me close for that. She knew I was watching anyway.

Angela's bewitching voice filled the space, "Splendid! Well then, you two back out. The rest of you,—places. Isabella and I will be front row silently judging you all."

There were a few laughs, but we ignored them and headed to a closer table. We sat just as the trumpets started to sound and I whispered immediately, not taking my eyes off of the entering bridal party. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I didn't want you hiding off in the corner," She smiled still watching them walk single files diagonally across the floor to couple off.

They started dancing and I continued to watch and talk, "I'm a wedding coordinator, we're _supposed_ to be in the background. The only time you should see us is if something's wrong."

"My apologies," She surrendered in good spirits as the song continued. I smiled and few times in delight at the cheerful routine before she interrupted my trance, "You never told me anyway. How did you end up on this wedding? I thought Edward's sister was handing the wedding details. Did she give it up?"

I shook my head, feeling instantly guilty about the information I withheld. Angela had opened up so much today, and I knew that my answer was going to make her retreat. But honesty was the best policy, "Alice is my best friend from college. Emmett is pretty much my brother, and Carlisle and Esme are the parents I never had."

Angela's eyes widened and her head whipped to me, "Shit!" She hissed before she clamped her hand over her mouth. "You're friends with the family? I thought you were brought in from the outside. Bloody hell—I just aired out Tanya's dirty laundry and talked about how I wanted to—"

"—It's okay," I hissed before she could finish whatever she was going to say about Edward. "I don't know Edward or Tanya, we've never met before this weekended, and I don't plan on saying anything to anyone."

"It's _so_ embarrassing, and _unprofessional_." She shrieked practically mortified.

I waved a dismissal, "Please the crew all talk behind the scenes, and as long it doesn't get back to the actual family or guests it's no harm done. I won't say anything," I promised. I could honestly keep that promise because I knew that Alice and the others had their doubts about all of this already and I didn't want to get anyone in trouble or add fuel to the fire. That and I was a hundred percent sure it wasn't anything Emmett didn't already know and express with Edward.

"Thank you Isabella," She breathed, realizing that she could trust me.

I gave her hand a squeeze, "Call me Bella, and no problem. I like you, and you should definitely keep in touch once this wedding is over because I have a feeling we;re going to be sending some clientele your way."

She slid me a business card and let me watch the rest of the dance without interruption. The first song ended with the entrance of the Phantom, and both Edward and Tanya walked in. He seemed to have that same irritated looks as before, but when the music started and Falling Slowly started to play over the room, his annoyance faded.

The group moved with them, almost like shadows, their eyes never leaving their partners. I didn't know the song, but I listened to the lyrics about seeking redemption and falling in love all over again. My eyes pricked, and my heart swelled as I watched them dance, never taking their eyes off of each other.

And just when I thought the world couldn't get crueler the second song ended and the bridal party left the floor, leaving them alone together to do their final dance. A song of the phantoms irrevocable dedication to Christine, him begging her to trust and love him, and a song more seductive than anything they were making these days.

A smile played on his lips as well as hers, and my heart sank. Nothing hurt more than watching a person you loved dedicate his devotion to someone else before your eyes. I didn't know Tanya Hughston, so it was impossible to tell how much of her was in-genuine. I didn't really know Edward, so it was just as impossible to tell how much about her he knew and loved. But I did know watching them, without a shadow of a doubt that there was love there. _Real_ love. The way he looked at, told me that this was _right_and as much as it hurt, they fit.

The song ended, and I found myself wiping tears from my eyes after noticing Angela watching me. "It was beautiful," I rushed for an explanation to ease her anxiety. "It's amazing Angela."

"Thank you Bella." She smiled again giving my knee a slight squeeze before getting up. "Okay, again from the top."

The doors to the ballroom swung open again but this time it was Emmett. "Sorry to interrupt your rehearsal Ange, I just came to steal Bella for a minute."

I was up and on my feet wiping my eyes trying to get to him as quickly as possible not looking at anyone I passed. Pulling him into a corner I crossed my arms and looked up at him, "What's up Em?"

He wasn't focused on what he came for so much anymore. "Have you been _crying_ Bella? Is it Jacob"

I gestured to the ensemble back at practice. "I got to see their first dances, it's really beautiful."

"Sap." He exhaled with relief satisfied with my answer.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Do you need something or did you just come down to make fun of me being a softie?"

"I brought the cards for my speech, for you to look over. I figured the sooner I got them to you the better since the wedding's tomorrow." It was my turn to let out a sigh of relief, I thought he was coming to tell me he changed his mind.

I gave them a quick glance over but didn't read them thoroughly, "I'll look them over and give it back to you." I promised with a nod.

He nodded, and pulled his wallet from the back of his jeans, "Also, I owe you some money."

That was news, "For what?"

"You settled the bar tab last night when I was too smashed to realized. I should have paid for it." He explained pulling out bills.

I shook my head, "Emmett put your wallet away. I invited you remember?"

Emmett was insisting trying to push the money in my hand. "No Bella, that was a pretty expensive tab and you were dragging me out to pull my head out of my ass. That shouldn't cost you—"

"No Emmett. It was just drinks." I refused.

"You're already won't let us pay you for helping with the wedding, you wouldn't let us purchase your ticket, and you're finances are—"

My eyes widened and before I knew it I hissed, "Not that my finances are any of your concern but I'll have you know I get paid very well doing what I do. I may not be a Crowley, or Hughston or a _Cullen _but I do pretty well for myself."

"Oh God Bells that's not what I meant at all!" He rushed bringing attention to us, and he turned red shifting in silence until Angela got everyone's focus back on the practice. He spoke a lot lower this time, "I didn't mean that, I _swear _I didn't mean it like that. You know me Bells. I meant that, I know you're on your own. Cut off from your parents, and staying in your own place and stuff, I wasn't calling you poor. I was just trying to—I swear I always put my foot in my mouth."

Emmett was never flustered, and he never stumbled, but today he was both. He really didn't mean to offend me. I hugged him quickly letting him off the hook. "Look Emmett. I'm sorry for snapping, I know you didn't mean to offend me. It's just rally important that you understand how I feel on this.

When I first moved into my apartment you, Alice and Rose all flew into Phoenix with me to help me pack my things. Then the three of you _drove_ with me in U-hauls to California and helped me move in. Esme and Carlisle even flew in to show me support. Emse made a months worth of casseroles so that I wouldn't be forced to eat junk due to long hours. You did it on your own time, and your own dime even though you didn't have to, and as uncomfortable and as odd as it felt at first. I remember never feeling so loved.

You've all included me on trips and treated me to vacations with Alice during college without a hint of hesitation and I know that I may never be able to send you to a private island all expenses paid for a few weeks but I can pay for a few drinks. It's important to me that I can do at least the small stuff. Flying here and helping out on my own dime is no different than what you guys did. I care about you all and I want to."

Emmett put the money back in his wallet and gave me another firm hug, "I'm sorry Bella, I had no clue you felt that way. I won't press the next time you say you want to cover it."

"Thank you." I breathed feeling guilty that I hurt his feelings, "I'm sorry for snapping."

"No, snap away, I need you to keep my head out of my ass as much as possible it seems." He chuckled realizing the dance was over again. "I'm going to go steal my brother away to talk to him for a minute. I haven't got a chance to apologize, yet."

I eagerly stepped out of the way, "Go, go."

—

Both of them actually stepped out of the hall to talk, much to Tanya's annoyance. I however went back to my corner in the back and read over Emmett's speech, laughing at the funny parts and putting a note or two in the corner voicing a concern of if something seemed too mean or awkward.

Walking back in fifteen minutes later, Edward had a smile on his face miles wide, and I couldn't help but grin as I watched him practice again from afar.

Angela called it quits after another twenty minutes telling them not to get too wasted at the parties tonight, and to get at least a hint of rest sometime between now and the wedding. I told Alice that I had a few more things to do and I would meet up with her before the bachelorette party if she wanted. She cheerfully agreed and ran off to find Rose to get a manicure to pass the time.

As they all dispersed I watched Tanya and Edward talk and linger a few minutes longer. It didn't seem like a hostile conversations considering Edward was still all grin, and Tanya had her patent smile but when it was over, she turned and left with Irina and Edward turned on his heels and headed straight for me.

Confusion and shock were the only emotions I was feeling as I packed up my things to meet him halfway but shock and confusion couldn't register on my face since his smile was forcing me to smile back at him.

"Hi!" He greeted breathlessly, he sounded excited, and winded.

"Hello..." I breathed just as breathless but for other reasons.

A few moments of awkward silence passed between us before I pushed him to continue, "So, did you need help with something...or did you—"

He interrupted me, saying the words all in a rush, "This is going to sound weird, but do you think we can go for a walk?"

I blinked up at him, a walk? Where? Why? "Um, I have errands to run—"

"Then I'll follow you—"He rushed again, this time blushing after the words flowed, "Okay that was creepy, I just meant—"

It was adorable, so adorable that I fought the urge to giggle and let him off the hook, "I know what you mean. What is it with you Cullen boys and your stammering today?"

"You didn't answer my question," He pointed out smiling and a bit more relaxed.

I know I didn't. I was trying to work up the courage to say no despite the fact I didn't want to. It was better for me to say no. "It'll be very boring."

"I don't think it will be," He insisted with that cool smirk returning.

Apparently he wasn't going to let mes say no. I thought it all through in my head and then shrugged, "Sure." What the hell, what harm could one walk do?


	5. Chapter 5- Rehearsal Dinner

**Hey guys, so I like responses so far, and I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed and signed up to alert themselves for my postings. Still laptopless, but these next two chapters were drilling my head to get out, and this one may be a bit repetitive on the timeline, but i think it's important that we know how Edward feels (Or Edikins, depending on which team you're on.) Oh and my story was put on a poll at the lemonade stand vote for it if you have a chance. .com. **

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Chapter 5- The night before

"Edward," My sister's voice called gently shaking me.

My eyes snapped open and I shot up realizing I wasn't in my room. "Wha—where am I?"

"You're in _my_ room Edward, you fell asleep on the sofa, remember?" She explained patiently, standing up from her squatting position and going to slide her feet into a pair of shoes.

—

Now that I thought about it, I did remember coming to Alice's room when Emmett and I had our fight last night. I remembered the both of us coming inside and her listening to me frustratingly try to explain my feelings until I was blue in the face. I don't remember falling asleep, but I did remember Bella.

She saw me and Alice in the hall and when I locked eyes with her, she looked so hurt I felt worse than I already did. She looked like she wanted to come over and talk to Alice, and Alice sensed it too opening her room and sending me inside while she went to talk to her.

I remember being annoyed, because I wanted to know what was wrong with her, and to help in whatever way I could. I didn't know her very well, but it wasn't hard to see that she was on the verge of tears, and an angel that beautiful should never have to cry about anything.

I'd asked Alice what was up the second she came back in, but she just told me it was nothing, and to focus on me and Emmett—so that's what we did.

—

"What time is it?" I croaked folding up the blanket she'd put on me while I was asleep.

She glanced down at her phone while putting on her earrings. "A little after ten," She announced mid yawn before turning back around.

Something was off about her too, she wasn't her normal hyper self. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little tired." She admitted trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "We were up pretty late last night, but I need to be at bridal shower."

That made me feel bad, I didn't have to go to the bridal shower so I could sleep in. It wasn't right for me to keep her up. "I'm sorry, I should have been more considerate to the face that—"

She stopped me before I could finish apologizing. "Don't be ridiculous Edward, you're my brother. It is written in the stars that every sibling will have many sleepless nights in an attempt to aid the other."

"Then skip the shower and get some rest," I insisted. She wasn't obligated to go. It was basically for Tanya and her cluster of friends and family.

Alice was protesting and putting on lipstick at the same time. "Nope. I'm not going to skip the shower, especially not after last night."

"What does that mean?" I wondered walking around the suite trying to find my shoes.

"It means that you're my big brother and supporting you and your choices is also one of those things written in the stars. Despite that fact that one of us seems to be forgetting that at the present—I won't. I went to Rose's shower, so I'll be going to Tanya's." Normally it was cute when she got that determined look on her tiny diamond shaped face but today it only made me feel bad. "Besides, mom and Rose are coming too."

Now I felt worse. "Mind if I wash my face before we walk out?"

Alice just turned back around and kept putting stuff on her eyelashes, "Sure go ahead."

I closed the door to the bathroom and splashed water on my face feeling like shit. What was wrong with me? This was supposed to be the happiest weekend of my life and I was arguing with part of my family and inconveniencing the other part. Alice had been up all night listening to me patiently as I ramble on the same things I always did, and was still determined enough to get up the next morning and head to my fiance's bridal shower—the same little sis that needed a minimum of seven hours or she'd turn into a narrow eyed monster.

When she was tired she was practically a four foot ten inch Dr. Banner. You wouldn't like her when she's sleepy.

My brother and I were whipping her back and forth, she was losing sleep, but she took it all in strides because she loved me and wanted this weekend to be perfect. So it was time to suck it up an be an adult.

I needed to accept that Emmett didn't approve of my choice—hell maybe he never would—but I needed to remind myself that despite how close we both were, we were also separate people. I needed to be okay with my choices even if it meant he wouldn't always be in my corner anymore.

Drying my face I focused and steeled myself for the rest of the weekend. I was getting married tomorrow whether Emmett agreed or not, and I couldn't let it get to me anymore. "You look pretty," I complimented admiring my baby sister. She'd been the same height since middle school and if it weren't for my own spurts of growth I'd completely forget we weren't twelve years old running around and getting into trouble anymore. It was probably due to her extreme lack of sleep, but she looked like a grown up.

"Nope, my eyes aren't popping, and I look dull. I'm _acceptable_," She corrected tossing a small mirror in her purse and pulled a gift from the closet I didn't know was there. "Tell me I'm pretty when I _actually_ look pretty, or I'll just feel ugly."

"Calling you pretty makes you feel ugly?" I echoed in confusion holding the door open for her. Girls really made no sense to me at times, "You know how backwards that sounds right?"

She nodded waiting to let me lock up her room. "That's because you're a boy and you don't get it. If you always tell me I'm pretty anytime I get dressed I won't believe you when it matters and I'll assume you're just saying it out of routine because you're my brother. You have to save it for the moments I really need to hear it."

I pressed the button for the elevator and shook my head, "That's ridiculous. If I think you look pretty I'll tell you, you _look_ pretty."

She just let out a sigh and we stepped in, "Would you ever tell me when I look ugly?"

"Hell no, I don't have a death wish," I denied, the words coming out before I could think about what point she was trying to prove.

She gave me that smug sneer over the box in her arms—it was really too big for her, and I offered to carry it down but she refused. "So how can I trust that I'm really pretty when you're telling me I look pretty when you won't even tell me when I don't look pretty?"

"I—that's—" I stammered stuck wondering how I managed to get myself stuck in that trap all men seem to get stuck in when I was just trying to complement her. Eventually I gave up taking the safe way out, "Because you _always_ look pretty. You're a Cullen, it's in our genes."

"Good save," She smirked before turning her face into her shoulder to yawn again. "So—how are you feeling Edward?"

"Fine," I shrugged shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

That wasn't a good enough answer for Alice, "Just fine..." She pressed, then sighed when I didn't say anything, "This thing with you and Emmett, isn't _fine_."

"Yeah it is Allie, he doesn't support me, and I just have to get over it. It's...whatever." I shrugged again glad that the doors were opening so that I could get out of elevator and hopefully the conversation with it.

"We can talk about it," She offered looking in the direction of the hotel lobby, torn on following me to my room.

I shook my head, "No, I'm good Allie. Em made his decision and I just need to adjust and focus on getting married. Thank you—for everything. You're the best sister any guy could ask for, but I'm okay."

Her gray eyes reminded me of mom's as I let her stare me over waiting for a hint that I wasn't telling the truth. Lucky for me, she hadn't had the years of practice mom did at honing that particular talent. "Okay, then I'll see you at the dance rehearsal.."

I watched her until she walked through the lobby doors before pressing the elevator button to head up to my own room. My situation sucked, no doubt about it, but walking down the hall the only question in my head was what had been up with Bella last night? She looked like she really needed someone and since Alice was too busy being there for me she didn't have her best friend to depend on.

Feeling guilty again, I let myself in my room trying to figure out on how to set it right. She didn't know me, but maybe I could talk to her. Or maybe now that Alice wouldn't be so worried about me she could take care of it. That option made more sense, but also bothered me the most. I wanted to talk to her, to know her. I wanted her to treat me like Emmett and Alice. Why? I didn't have the faintest idea, but I wanted it all the same.

Peeling off my clothes and stepping into the shower I realized how tired I still was. I brushed my teeth deciding to get something to eat first, skip out on the football game later, and get some rest before rehearsal. Just a little break from all of the thinking and drama would do me good. I was starting to really appreciate the escape from real life that came with dreaming.

—

"Let's go see if Bella's done with her errands," Emmett suggested waiting for Rosalie to finish her last few sips of juice before handing her glass over to the server that came to clean up the table.

I looked over my shoulders wondering why I could still feel that tingly ball of magnetism I felt when I was around her even though she was nowhere to be seen. The second and first decks were filled with guests, eating and laughing but none of those faces were Bella's. Then almost like my head moved on it's own, I looked up to the third deck—the captain's deck— and there she was staring off past our deck and out at the water ahead.

"We won't have to look far," I answered hitting my brother on the shoulder and pointing up to the tinier floor above us.

Alice shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up, waving her arms, but Bella was long gone to notice, "She won't see us from here, let's go."

It took us a minute to find the stairs since the third deck was technically off limits, but when we did Emmett stuck his arm out making Rosalie stop, then pinned his back against the wall and like an idiot we did it too.

"What's going on?" Alice demanded pressed against the wall behind me.

Emmett turned back to her, "Captain James is coming downstairs."

"Let me see," Alice piped abandoning her hiding spot to peek around the corner. "Do you think he was talking to Bella?"

"Probably," Rosalie guessed looking around over her head watching him walk down the hall somewhere else. "Did you see the way he looked at her at the welcome party?"

"Why are we hiding?" I wondered suddenly feeling like an idiot and broke away from the wall to shove my hands in my pockets.

Rosalie shook her head, "Because Emmett seems to think this is an episode of Scooby Doo, and I'm the childish one."

"I was trying to not get busted," He clarified like that made perfect sense, "Third deck is off limits."

"Whatever _shaggy_ let's just go." Alice teased making a break for the stairs.

It took Emmett a second to catch the insult, "Wait, I'm not shaggy. I'm _Fred._"

"Too late, once the nickname is given it's stuck." Rose agreed making me chuckle leaving us on our own.

I peeped my head around to make sure that we were in the clear before we opened the door to the third deck. Then we followed the light and I froze in my tracks. She didn't notice us, but we noticed her, and she looked so beautiful in whatever world she was lost in.

She had ear buds in, and she was curled up on a bench staring off with Alice's infamous wedding binder in her lap. Her eyebrows were creased into a hard line of concentration and her heart shape face looked confused and conflicted. What was she listening to? What was she thinking about?

"She's found another soundtrack to her life," Alice figured slapping Emmett's arm to get his attention.

"What?" I mumbled hating that I was left out on all things Isabella Swan.

Rose explained as we walked across the deck, "Whenever she feels an overwhelming emotion, she listens to songs that match that emotion while she sorts things out. You know, musical therapy."

"Yep, you can always tell how Bells, is feeling by what she's playing on her iPod," Emmett agreed calling her name loud enough for her to hear and low enough to avoid giving her a heart attack."

She tensed when she heard him but then her shoulders relaxed when she let out a resolved sigh, pulled her ear buds out, turned in our direction, and then told us, "I have a boyfriend." Her voice was so shaky and small that it felt like she was asking us.

Emmett's mouth dropped in shock for a sec, but then he cocked a grin and reminded her, "And I have a _wife_, so I think we're good."

Her face flashed seven shades of red as she stammered, " I—I thought you were someone else."

Rosalie practically attacked her at the thought of some wedding guest trying to win over Bella's affection, "Do tell! What side of the guest list is he on, bride or grooms? Hopefully the Cullen side then you'll be _family!_"

Bella's eyes widened in panic for a spit second like Rose was close to hitting the nail on the head. I really hoped she was wrong. I couldn't imagine any of my relatives being good enough for her.

I played the options over in my mind., Bella...Bella _Cullen_... Isabella...Isabella _Cullen_. I had to admit that it had a nice ring to it. I shook off the thought because most of my extended family had a stick up their ass and I _really_ didn't want her dating any of them. Then I remembered I didn't have a right to judge who she dated, because we weren't close enough for my protectiveness to _not_ seem strange. But Emmett _was_ maybe I'd remind him when we were alone.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts because Alice was rambling on about Bella already being family, and giving her guess at who Bella _thought_ she was talking to, "...was it that captain? That James guy? I saw him come up here earlier?" Her voice sounded almost accusatory, like Bella was keeping a secret and needed to spill.

The blonde? Was Bella _really_ into that type of guy? That stomach knot was coming back, I _really_ hoped not. She didn't need someone that probably took longer than her to get ready in the morning.

Bella's eyes didn't leave the ground, and the color in her cheeks didn't pale out while she explained James, "He brought me a muffin and juice, nothing big. It's _nothing_, drop it." The poor girl was practically begging.

I was about to say something to give her a break but Alice spoke first, "Are you sure it wasn't the captain, because I saw him at the party and you were right, he was _totally_ checking out your ass—"

Bella's head snapped up, and she was bright red, "Allie!" She hissed before she could say anything else and looked in my direction almost pointedly. She pleaded again for her to let it go.

Was it me? Was she uncomfortable right now because _I _was there? Would she have had this conversation if it were just my siblings and Rose up here? I blanched at the thought.

"Is one of these assholes not getting a hint? Let me know and I'm more than willing to make sure he catches it," I rolled my eyes at Emmett's threatening promise.

_Leave it to my brother to go caveman..._ The three of them were doing that thing again, where they were so caught up in Bella that they'd completely forgotten I was there. I playfully cleared my throat and razzed, "Forgive my brother, he's always searching for a reason to go Neanderthal on someone."

Bella blinked a few times in my direction like she really did forget I was there, then lifted her head and told me as protective and defensive, as it was matter-of-factly, "I think it's sweet." Then she turned to my brother a lot softer, promising she'd come to him if there was a problem.

Four very simple words, in the most professional of tones instantly made me feel like shit. Note to self; no bad mouthing Emmett in front of Bella Swan. She was obviously as protective of them as they were of her. _How did I miss this?_ Sure I'd spent the last seven years of my life at Cambridge, but I wasn't exactly M.I.A. I'd come home every break and holiday. I'd spoken to all of them at _least_ twice a week, and they all had flown over when they had time.

Sure I had heard Bella's name a few times, but at what point did she go from being Bella—Alice's best friend— to Bella—honorary Cullen?

Bella's phone started ringing and Emmett for some odd reason _dove_ for it—something about her boyfriend calling back home and Em wanting to go caveman, Bella was currently arguing her side about wanting to spend the rest of her trip _not_ thinking about him.

Why wouldn't she want to talk to her boyfriend? Why would Emmett want to put the fear of God into him? There had to be a good reason. Was she with some dick that didn't deserve her? I hadn't known her for more than a day and I could already tell she was one of the most amazing women I ever met. I sincerely hoped she could see that and wasn't settling for someone beneath her. If this guy was lacking then why was she parading the fact that she had him, using him to ward off other suitors? Couldn't she be passing up on a chance to actually have a _decent _boyfriend? Great! Like I didn't have enough questions in my head about her already.

The horn of arrival snapped me back out of my head, and once again no one was noticing that I was just standing there. I felt invisible, no not invisible. Like a talking cardboard cutout, you knowledge that it's there, but you know throwing conversation it's way would be pointless because it couldn't answer with anything relevant.

What was it going to take to get this girl to actually notice me? To talk to me? I said I wanted to know her and so far since deciding that fact all I got were more questions and isolation.

"Are you alright Mr. Cullen?" This time it was her sweet voice bringing me back.

But it was all off. It wasn't loving, it was polite. I didn't want polite. I wanted warm, and comforting but most of all I wanted her to stop calling Mr. _fucking_ Cullen. "Edward..." I corrected for the tenth time, sighing because if she didn't say it by now, she was probably doing it on purpose.

She stared up at me with wide confused eyes—she was blinking again, "What?"

"Edward—call me Edward," No one else was here anymore. I didn't noticed them leaving but I was glad for the small favor. I may be invisible when the three of them where around , but alone...she was aware of me. "That's my name _Bella_." I stressed her name hopefully hinting that I wanted us on a first name basis.

"I'm sorry," she muttered actually talking to me, "I keep forgetting how uncomfortable it must be for me to be so casual with your family and so estranged with you. I guess—"

No, no I wasn't going to lose her now, we were alone and there would probably never be another moment like this one. "What were you going to say?"

She shook her head, and for a minute I thought I was going to have to coax it out of her, but she found the words on her own. "I guess with you being my client in a way… and me being friends with Alice and Emmett…It's hard to figure out where the line should be—you know with how I interact with them versus you. I just didn't want you or Tanya to feel like I'm not taking this seriously or I'm using it as an excuse to play around."

I suppressed my groan, I _didn't _want to talk about Tanya right now. "Nobody thinks you aren't serious about this. You're doing a great job." I knew I should have been using the actual word wedding instead of 'this' and I knew that I should have mentioned Tanya by name, but I didn't want to make the only moments of conversation we were going to have to be about any of that.

I made sure I kept my eyes on hers while I talked, because she needed to know that this was about _us_. Us—_us?—__**US?! **_There couldn't be an us. There was no us? This girl has a _boyfriend_ back home Cullen. Wait—no—you're getting _married_. That's what I meant. That was the problem. _NO—_not the problem it was the—

Screw it. As long as I didn't say any of my fucked up mental ramblings aloud I'd probably be able to sleep tonight. Staring into those deep brown eyes made that knot come back. I was getting lost in them and even though I should have probably been worried about how I'd explain staring longing into my wedding coordinators eyes, I didn't care at the moment because they were telling me everything I needed to know.

When we were alone she wasn't just _aware_ of me, she was completely _au courant_. Bella _wanted _me, I was no stranger to that look she was giving me. The way here eyes ghosted over my lips told me she wanted to kiss me, and the feeling was more than mutual. Her body heat was radiating and I was practically crawling out my skin to touch her.

But I didn't because there was also hesitation, and fear in those doe eyes. And she was right to be, because this situation was so fucked up and complicated I should have ran away from it the moment I met her at the welcome party. I should have begged Alice to put her back on a plane to wherever she came from, far away from being my undoing. But I didn't, because I didn't want to lose what I was feeling before I could explain it.

So instead I tried to ease her anxiety, "Besides, I can understand more than anyone the trouble with finding the line."

Her eyes widened in understanding and I couldn't fight that twitch in my hands anymore. I linked my hand with hers, rubbing gently over her knuckles hoping that would alleviate the ache to be close to her. Bella's eyelid's fluttered and her breathing hitched, like the most innocent touch between us flared hot like the the most erotic of sexual acts.

That touch was stupid, it didn't assuage anything. Instead it was like lighting a spark surrounded by gunpowder because before I knew it I was pulling her close to me and forcing my lips on her before I could talk myself out of it.

She froze at first, but it didn't take long for her to drop her phone and wedding book and start fisting the collar of my shirt and reciprocate. Her lips parted to let me in and I practically groaned into her mouth she tasted so good. Like strawberries. I wanted more, and she did too.

I twisted my fingers into the hair at the base of her neck and took that sweet bottom lip gently between my teeth. She gave me a moan that shot straight to my dick, only releasing a hand to move mine down her back because her desperate attempts at pushing her body closer to mine wasn't going to give her enough friction.

With one strong arm I clutched her closer only breaking our kiss long enough to look in our eyes and breathe. "We need to get someplace appropriate, and _fast_."

She nodded linking my hand to hers without a second thought, "Let's get out of here, follow me."

I let her guide me down the stairs and off the boat without a second thought. Sure guests were looking at me in shock and bewilderment but I didn't bother to look back. Bella was leading and I was more than prepared to follow her anywhere.

—

The alarm buzzer was a horrible way to wake up. Whoever thought scaring yourself awake was a good idea needed mental help. Then again the world probably needed mental help for letting that shit catch on.

The clock face read one-thirty which meant I _had_ to get up if I didn't want to be late for dance rehearsal. Pulling back the covers and trying to stand I was painfully aware of my sweatpants tenting. Of course. This wasn't the first time I had dreamt about Isabella and how that exchange on the boat should have gone—in fact I was proud of myself for keeping it tame this time.

She had been in my dreams in one way or another since I meant her, and I'd only knowing her for two days. Granted I'd only slept three times since then but that was a high count considering I was getting married tomorrow.

Sorting through my clothes for something more appropriate, I focused myself on what needed to be done. I wasn't an idiot, my dreams were spot on. For some unexplained reason I wanted Isabella, and even though I wanted to know her I needed to stay far far away because if even a part of me gave in it was going to snowball.

I didn't have a chance in hell at restraining myself if we so much as _touched_ again. As much as I hated myself for admitting it, I craved Bella. More than I craved anything so far in my life.

Then my mom and dad's faced popped in my head, like they always did when I realized I was thinking about doing something reckless and they succeeded in making me feel like shit. I _wasn't_ that guy. The type of guy that slept around and cheated. Bella _wasn't_ that girl, and I wasn't going to make her _that_ girl. I couldn't do that to her.

I jumped, feeling a pinch on my ass I turned around. "Hello Edward."

"Kate, didn't we talk about keeping our hands to ourselves?" I curtly reminded moving far enough away that she wouldn't touch me again.

Kate crossed her arms and laughed off my terse response, "Oh Edward, I couldn't help it. You were staring off adorably, and I decided to seize the chance while your guard was down. I won't have many more opportunities, after all you _are_ getting married tomorrow."

I tried very hard not to roll my eyes at my very handsy soon to be sister-in-law. Yes I considered her an in-law, because I definitely wasn't looking forward to being so accessible to _her_. Tanya's sister Kate was exactly like her in so many ways. Both gorgeous with fair skin and blonde hair. Though their shades of blonde differed—hers a honey color and Tanya's more strawberry. They both had the commanding presence about them and knew exactly how to behave amongst their social circle. They were both fierce, dedicated, and charming.

But Tanya was the baby, and Kate was the oldest and like most siblings close in age, given the exact same things, and viewed the exact same way, they often butted heads over things that couldn't be shared. Often getting caught up in trying to steal the others _one of a kind _from right beneath their nose.

Apparently Kate saw me as one of those 'one of a kind's. "Yes, I'm getting _married,_ to your _sister_, so you need to accept the fact that—"

"Well, maybe it won't be my _last_ opportunity," She mused. Her Manchester accent dripping with lust as she twirled her finger around a single ringlet of hair. "We'll have holiday gatherings and family functions galore to share a _moment_." A group of Tanya's other family members and friends stepped off the elevator laughing and Kate took that as her cue to leave. "I'm off to dance on air, hopefully Tanya won't keep you waiting too long."

She joined the grouping and I waved to Irina, Sonya, and a few others I knew well. A couple of them turned back letting their waves linger but I didn't look twice. What was _wrong_ with Kate? Is sibling rivalry that deep? I mean, sure there a few times Em and I both set eyes on the same girl, but once one of us won we respected each other enough to label them as off limits—not that a few didn't try to double dip.

I needed to not let Kate get to me. I needed to focus on remaining stress free so that I wouldn't upset my family any more than I already had with the ups and downs from Emmett.

"Uh oh, what's that's face?" My little sister's voice demanded behind me.

I whipped around but didn't see her, then I reminded myself she wouldn't be at eye level and looked down. She was expectantly looking up at me with concerned gray eyes. I shook my head to not cause alarm but told the truth, "Kate won't keep her hands to herself."

"Again?" She practically shrieked, but then lowered her voice once she noticed the hotel lobby echoed. "You're getting married in less than thirty hours, this is ridiculous"

"Tell me about it," I muttered not wanting to get started,

Alice folded her arms and pouted up at me, "I know you don't want to start any sister beef, but you need to tell Tanya, before it's some how flipped around or reversed."

I didn't know how to tell my sister that Tanya already _knew_ and had known forever. She wouldn't take that news very well, "I'll take care of it."

"Good," She nodded satisfied by my answer and looking at the opening elevator. "There's Tyler, we need to get in there. You know Angela hates it when we're late. Wanna walk with?"

"I need to wait for Tanya," I reminded.

She nodded in understanding but perked up. I was glad to see she was back to her normal exuberant self, I was planning on doing everything in my power to make sure she didn't look like she did this morning ever again, especially not over worrying about me.

"Sure thing bro." And she skipped down the hall towards the ballroom.

I laughed to myself before checking my watch again. It took Tanya an extra twenty minutes to walk through the lobby doors and when she did she looked just as irritated as I felt.

"What happened?" I demanded wanting to make sure she was okay.

Tanya shook her head, "You first."

"Kate." was the only word I needed.

Tanya's eyes widened for a second and then her lips twitched in the corners making a smile, then the smile was accompanied by laughter, "She's _still_ at it?"

"Yes she is," I hissed as we walked to the ball room. Tanya didn't respond she was too busy laughing.

"It's not funny Tanya," I hissed irritated that she found it humorous. "What if someone saw her do that? I'm going to be your _husband _not a possession you own. She needs to know she can't grope me because you two are over competitive."

Once she realized I was _actually_ beyond irritated she sobered up. "Edikins, calm down."

"I honestly don't see how you can be _so calm_ about it," I wondered shaking my head, I wasn't angry yet, there were a few more levels before I reached angry.

She grabbed my hand and smiled at me, "Because I _trust_ you Eddie, I know you aren't going to _do_ anything with her. She's just jealous that I'm marrying the most stunning man on the planet and she's slowly growing into a spinster. You know how she is."

"I don't care to sympathize anymore. It's disrespectful to me, and it's disrespectful to you." I snapped still bothered at how casual she was taking her sister hitting on me.

Tanya stopped in her tracks and rubbed her temples in a circular motion. "I'll handle Kate." She promised with surprisingly no fight. I expected her to tell me I was overreacting like the last hundred times we had this talk.

Definitely off—she wanted something. "Now what happened with you?"

"I made a decision." She started softly glancing up at me sweetly deciding to continue our walk to the ballroom.

She didn't say it out right which she never did when she thought I would find the information unpleasant, I had to press her for it. "And.. that would be."

She let it out in a rush. "I'm going to revoke Alice's invitation to my bacholorette party—"

"You're _what_?" I snapped stopping our walk again staring at my fiance with wide eyes disbelief. "Tell me you're kidding."

She shook her head no, "Not just her, Rosalie too."

Oh like that was going to make me feel better. "Why?"

"Because they made it very clear they're _your_ friends and not mine." She answered logically, like that was supposed to make sense to me.

I was competently thrown, "_They're my family Tanya!_" I reminded her a bit louder than I meant to. "Are you _trying_ to make this wedding difficult?"

"Eddikins, lower your voice," She hissed looking around the hall making sure we weren't causing a scene.

Screw causing a scene. I grabbed her elbow and lead her into an empty conference room so that we could have this conversation the way _I _wanted to. "Why do you want to kick them off your list?"

"Alice skipped out halfway through my bridal shower, and Rose covered for her." She explained prepared to fight me on it. "They obviously don't really care for me, so I'll save them the trouble."

Skipped out? Of course. I released a breath feeling a headache coming on, "Tanya, _I_ told her to do that."

"Why would you tell her to stay for half of my shower and leave Eddie?" Tanya looked insulted, and hurt.

Then I felt like shit again, "She was up all night talking to me and I felt bad for keeping her. I told her to sit out all the way, but she still got up to support you."

"Oh." She breathed looking down, "Well that makes sense, never mind."

"Oh? Oh? So you were just going to kick my sister out of the party she's _throwing_ for you without talking to her about it first? " This talk definitely wasn't over.

She shrugged slightly, "Alice doesn't like me, and I just figured when she ditched my party half way that she got tired of pretending."

"What has Allie done to make you feel like she doesn't like you_?_" I demanded raking my hands through my hair wondering where the hell Tanya's mind was. If this were a conversation about Emmett, yeah okay, but Alice? No.

Tanya rolled her eyes, "Trust me Eddie, I can tell when a person actually likes me as opposed to just pretending to _tolerate_ me for whatever reason."

"Do you, now?" The question came out more sarcastic than it should and Tanya's eyes widened. I let out a breath and adjusted the words because the spark in her eyes told me she was a second away from exploding. "Look, my sister _likes_ you, and she wants to _know_ you, but you have to meet her halfway. If something makes you uncomfortable talk to her, don't just react. She'll listen, I promise."

Tanya let out her own frustrated exhale, "I want to, I really want to but I feel like any time I address something it's going to look like I'm a dramatic when in reality I'm just _really_ passionate. They just don't know me so they don't understand me."

That was one way to put it. "I know how emotional you—"

"—I'm not _emotional_ I'm _passionate_." She corrected crossing her arms under her breast again. All of these things were getting less and less cute.

"I know how _passionate_ you are," I corrected as patiently as I could, "But you have to also understand that my family can't _get_ to know all of those sides of you unless you _let_ them."

She glanced down at her shoes, and her voice dropped out of the whine and softened into a more apprehensive murmur, "You and your family are so tight knit, and I never had that so I'm not used to it. I know your family is important to you I just— I don't know how to fit in." Her reminding me of her cool upbringing made me feel like an asshole. Of course she wouldn't know how to be close to them.

"No one in my family _fits in,_" I tried to chuckle to lighten the mood. "We're as different as night and day we all just learned to love each other regardless. Talk to Alice, not just polite conversation, get to know her likes and dislikes, show her that you want to meet her halfway and it will all work itself out."

Glancing up at me I could see the slightest glisten around the rim of her eyes but before I could register if she were about to cry or had been crying she buried her head in my chest and locked her arms around my waist. "Oh Edikins, please know that I'm trying, I really am."

"I know," I sighed wrapping an arm around her and rubbing her hair with my free hand.

"Sometimes I feel like you're the only one that understands me," she confided with a slight sniffle.

"I think that's part of this whole, husband thing." I joked again but didn't laugh this time. Then a thought occurred to me. "Sweetie, why were you going to dis-invite Rose?"

She was quiet for a long time but before I could repeat the question she breathed in one long exasperated rush, "Because every time she's in a room peoples heads turn and I didn't want her to get more attention than me. I know it's shallow, and pretty petty that I'm jealous but I can't help it. I'm an idiot."

Okay, at least she acknowledged the fact that her thoughts were ridiculous, that had to count for something, "Tanya you're not an idiot, you're just—a woman. It's perfectly normal for a bride to want her wedding to be about her, and I think most women would feel awkward being around Rosalie, but I promise you have no need to be. You're a beautiful woman and you turn way more heads than you realize."

—

I wasn't sure how late we were, but I could hear Angela's fruity voice counting through the doors. Hoping that we could just sneak in, I cracked the door just wide enough for Tanya and I to walk in. I hadn't really been lucky all weekend so didn't know why I thought it'd work.

"Edward, Tanya! _Finally_ you two decide to join us!" She greeted us warm enough, but after two years of knowing her I could tell by the way she stressed _finally_, she was more than prepared to tear us a new one if we weren't ready to get to work.

She turned her back on everyone else, but they kept on working without her instruction, and I had to say I was impressed. When we first started this project three months ago I was worried about her being taken seriously. Angela was a terrific dancer, probably one of the best I'd ever seen, but in the realm of social hierarchy she and her family were technically considered 'new money'.

Thirty years ago her father was an aspiring venture capitalist that managed to turn a twenty thousand pound insurance policy from his father's death into a million pound turnaround in under a year and continued to flip said million well before Angela was even born. So the Weber name acquired the wealth for Angela to attend the finest schools, and for everyone else to take notice, but hadn't yet earned the prestige necessary for them to take it seriously.

But being accepted into the Royal Academy of Dance early on, and then excelling into the Royal Ballet, Angela carved her own mark, in no way caring to earn anyone's approval. Somehow managing to make them want hers.

Tanya smiled, extending her hands beckoning for her childhood friend to come closer. Angela smiled, but it didn't' reach her eyes. I suspected long ago that the social hierarchy caused a wedge between the girls a long time ago, but I never asked either of them what happened. Though they remained cordial I wouldn't exactly call them friends anymore. "Tanya, you look as stunning as ever." Angela complimented taking Tanya's hands.

Tanya's smiled widened as she took a look at her, kissing her cheeks as she did so, "Good to see you as always, Angela. How are things coming along here?"

"Perfect, but then you know I don't accept anything less." Angela winked releasing her so that she could turn to me. "Edward Cullen, you are _late_." She greeted me with a cock of her eyebrow but a genuine smile.

Old money, new money, _no _money— things like that never mattered to me or my family and Angela could tell. Every smile I gave her was sincere, no question I asked ever held a second meaning, and getting to know her never had an ulterior motive. She was one of the rare few in our circle that I could say with one-hundred percent certainty was, and would always be my friend.

" You can't yell at me for being late when I didn't see you at our welcome party. Late is better than all around ditching." Without hesitation I opened my arms and drew her in, squeezing her until she faked a grunt of discomfort.

Angela rolled her eyes wryly putting her hands on her hips, "Please, I had the worst flight delay in the _history_ of airlines, I didn't even get in until this morning."

"If anyone can understand the delay it's us, we had to _drive_ in from D.C. just to make it on time." I sympathized.

Angela's eyes widened in horror, "Well then I _suppose_ I can forgive you for being late considering how much you've been through. How do you both feel about the choreography? Comfortable enough?"

"More than comfortable we've practiced this thing in our sleep," I answered without hesitation.

"Good, very good, because I don't want to keep them longer than I have too," Angela planned. "We can work through it with you both and if there are no real bumps we should be in and out in no time at all."

"Thanks for doing this," I stressed for probably the hundredth time since we approached her for the project. "You have no idea how much it means to us."

"Oh I do," She smiled rolling her eyes again, "despite the fact you'll probably catch hell for not asking Lauren Mallory to do it."

I suppressed a groan at the mention of Lauren, she was a principle choreographer for English National Ballet and worked for many years in close proximity with Tanya's parents. She was talented, and though ballroom dance her specialty, neither of us liked her very much. "We wanted the best." I shrugged not going down that road again.

"And so you have me," She grinned in response, but I knew that her suggesting we'd catch trouble for our decision meant she had already gotten some. I could only imagine the gossip and talk circling around the wedding guests, especially with Lauren in attendance.

I wanted her to share what was happening, but instead she just smiled, glanced at Tanya, and joked. "At the end of the day Lauren is a dancer, and will always behave like a dancer. That's why it takes at least fifty of us to change a light bulb."

"Fifty?" I questioned not quite getting it.

Angela nodded, "Yes fifty—one of us to actually do it, while the other forty-nine watch and say they could have done it better." Angela and Tanya laughed, and I couldn't hold mine either. That was what I loved about Angela, no matter what happened, she'd ever let any of them see her sweat. "Now let's get to work."

She took over the practice again by shoving Tanya and I out of the room to wait for our cue to enter. I could hear Angela's counting through the doors along with the steps of the dancers and I used them both to keep my own count since Angela refused to let us try with music until we got it down.

"Do you find Angela attractive?" Tanya's voice wondered idly aloud.

I stopped whispering my count to answer her, still managing to keep time in my head. "I think she looks like Angela, why?"

"Because she has a thing for you," Tanya deduced from no where.

"No she doesn't," I argued still counting in my head.

Tanya was adamant, "Are you blind Eddie? She was practically flirting with you while you two were having your little _moment_ in front of me. Maybe we should have gone with Lauren Mallory after all..."

That made me lose my count all together, "Tell me you're joking? We both _hate_ Lauren Mallory, and Angela's our _friend_. She would be the obvious choice even if Lauren _could_ hold a candle to Angela."

"So you do find her attractive?" Tanya figured, her frost blue eyes analyzing my face.

I tried my best not to scowl, "When did I actually say that Tanya?"

"You said that Lauren couldn't hold a candle to Angela." She reasoned perfectly calm— it was strange.

I let out a long breath in an attempt to keep my voice under control., "I was _r_eferring to her _talent _as a choreographer."

"I guess," she relented with a sigh of her own.

"What is with you today? First wanting to kick out Rose and Alice, then wanting to fire Angela?" I hissed, "The people we're close to shouldn't—"

"You mean the people _you're_ close to," She corrected staring back at the door. "They aren't around for me, they're around for _you_."

"How can you say that, Alice put this whole thing together, and if I remember Angela was _your_ childhood friend." I argued feeling a headache coming on. "I don't know if Angela is into me or not because last time I checked I wasn't looking and she'd never tried anything.

I find it funny that you're willing to isolate us from Angela,— a person who has done _nothing _to disrespect our relationship, but you can be so nonchalant about an _actual_ situation right in front of you."

Tanya was actually stunned into silence, and before she could answer Angela was screaming our cue, "In walks the bride a groom—five, six, seven, eight."

I opened the door for us and took her hand , locking eyes with her so that we would take the step at the some time. I couldn't believe her lately, Angela? Really? We were _friends_, she helped me get the tickets to the show I proposed at. She'd never flirted with me, let alone made a pass but she was a cause of concern? When did Tanya get so insecure? Was this a glimpse of what was to come, because she couldn't very well isolate us from every person that found me attractive or that she thought I found attractive.

My inner thoughts must have echoed on my face, because before we even made it to our place in the center Angela was yelling at me, "_Smile_ Edward, this is the first time you introduce Tanya Cullen and not Tanya Hughston..."

I was pretty sure if Angela heard our conversation outside, _I_ wouldn't be the one feeling her wrath right now. Honestly, I didn't want to be dancing right now, I wanted to pull Tanya back into the hall and have a heart to heart about her newly developed insecurities. I didn't even have to fully focus on my peripheral to see the flashing smile on Tanya's face.

How could she do it? We were just having a disagreement not ten seconds ago, but nothing about her showed it. Here I was, irritated and so transparent about it the hairs on my arm were stand up. There was a clench in my stomach that somehow managed to twist tighter the more I walked.

No—that wasn't irritation. It was that same magnetic charge that repelled everything that made sense and tugged on the fringes of my awareness. _She_ was here—Bella. My eyes snapped up in her direction and I couldn't help the smile that flashed across my face when I proved myself right. I was going to start calling that tug in my gut my "Bella Sense" because it only happened when she was in proximity.

She was far off in the back corner, but her eyes stuck on mine like those brown orbs had their own tunnel vision. Her smile of a response only made mine widen. "That's better!" Angela glowed continuing to watch us and I mentally winced, for a second forgetting where I was and whose hand I was holding.

I couldn't help but cheese like an idiot when Bella smiled. I _loved_ her smile, there was something different about it. It wasn't flashy, forced, or shy; more of a natural grin that was plain and simple. Like sunshine through a raindrop.

Her eyes fluttered a few times, before she buried her nose in that black wedding binder again breaking my connection to my fix. Suppressing my sigh of disappointment, and letting my feet move I reminded myself that I swore to stay away from her for the rest of the weekend.

I knew it was better for both of us, but while we danced, I still used every moment I could to glance ahead ; hoping for another hit of whatever she did to me. Sadly , before I knew it, the entire dance was finished and she didn't look up a single time.

The others joined us back in the center of the dance floor for Angela to give her critiques. Since I knew Angela had no qualms about singling out weak links I walked over to Alice and waited for her to go through her list. "Hey sis, pretty smooth moves."

"Smooth is my middle name, how was the football game?" She whispered not even bothering to glance up at me.

I shrugged, "Skipped it for some sleep, how was the shower?"

"The part I attended was fine, the gift table was ridiculous though. You're one lucky boy if they all took the sexy traditional route." Alice snickered still keeping her voice low, "She won't have a lingerie repeat for at least your first three years."

I rolled my eyes at the thought, because I doubted that most of the women in attendance even knew what a man wanted in the bedroom category. Then I winced wondering what my _mom_ bought Tanya shuddering at the thought of her buying sexy things with me in mind, and didn't want to think about the possibility that something she picked could end up as a future favorite.

"You okay?" Alice whispered noticing the look on my face.

I nodded still trying to shake the thoughts.

Alice smiled at me knowingly, "Feeling awkward about about Mom picking out nighties right?"

"Yeah," I breathed ignoring her giggles. She knew me so well.

Angela had just gotten to Alice, "Alice love, you're exceptional especially considering you haven't had any formal training. Just remember with you being the tiniest you're posture has to be _pin straight_. I know it feels weird, but it looks beautiful."

Alice nodded taking in the critique and she went on to me, "Edward, _smile_. You're a happy newlywed, I don't care if Tanya's stiletto digs into your foot you go to your happy place and keep that smile of your face. Got it?"

"Got it," I rogered, paying attention to the group again.

Angela clapped her hands once, a habit of hers when she was moving on, " Great, now let's try it through with the music shall we? Isabella, come up here will you?"

Bella looked just as confused as the rest of us as she maneuvered her way up to the dance floor but her voice didn't waver, "Do you need something Miss Weber?"

"Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, you can drop the _miss_, but I do need your help with something." Angela laughed throwing an arm over her shoulder like they were old friends. It didn't look forced in the slightest, Angela liked her. "We're about to do a walk through with the music for the first time, and I would like you to be our first audience member."

Bella just shrugged, "Sure."

This made Angela brighten, "Splendid! Well then, you two back out. The rest of you—places—Isabella and I will be in the front row silently judging you _all."_

I chuckled because there was a slight threat under her smile that let us all know we better get it right. Listening to the music start up through the doors Tanya turned back to me. "So, I've been thinking."

I didn't say anything, worried that we'd pick up where we let off before.

She didn't need my permission to continue, "I want something _fun_ tonight at the rehearsal dinner. You know, like a game."

This was different. "Okay, what do you have in mind?"

"I don't know," She laughed and raised her shoulders. "I was just going to ask Isabella to think of something."

I looked down at her in disbelief, "The dinner is in five hours." I couldn't possibly see her putting anything together in that amount of time.

"I should have brought it up during her _dream talk_ thing but I was too preoccupied to function. Have you had yours yet?" She asked thoughtful.

I shook my head, "What is a _dream talk?_"

"She does this thing where she has a one on one session with the bride and groom to help complete their wedding vision. I'm glad Alice brought her, she's really quite thorough—hey if you haven't had yours yet, then you can ask her." Tanya beamed like it was a brilliant idea—a conveniently brilliant idea.

I was suppose to stay away from Bella, and if I for some reason did have to talk to her I didn't want throwing more work on her to be the reason.."Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Because I've already had my talk Eddikins, and I'm booked for a massage after this," She was making excuses.

"I don't even think she's planning to have a talk with me." I made my own excuse. "Maybe we should give her the night to work on it and use the game for the reception."

Apparently mine didn't fly, "No, the reception is full already, it has to be tonight. If she doesn't have a talk with you then just go ask her. The longer you wait the less time she has."

Trumpets blared for our entrance, and this time it was _me_ that lost the last word. I plastered my best smile on my face and walked hand and hand with Tanya. I could feel her watching me, but I kept my eyes straight ahead, not wanting things to be awkward.

The second song started up and I looked to the left and then back ahead, then readied my frame, unable to control my smile at the heart shaped face, and chocolate eyes staring up at me. They were nervous but trusting, and I tightened my grip on her slender hip hoping to give her a sense of security.

Her cheeks flushed pink, but her feet followed mine without the slightest stumble. The song was fitting, the Swell season lyrics about seeing the girl you can't get out of your head, the chase to get her, and the feeling you get when you realize you had her all along.

While the lyrics continued, my brown eyed girl's movements got more confident. She spun around, and broke away from my hold. The point of the dance was to remain constantly tethered, so I pulled her back to me, and she playfully grabbed the side of her long dress ducking underneath my arm before coming back around into my frame so that we could continue our waltz.

I chuckled at how cute she was.

"What's so funny?" The accent wasn't American, so it threw me off.

I blinked and the picture adjusted, and I was staring back down into a smiling face with frost blue eyes. "What's so funny Edikins?"

I didn't think Tanya would find it very funny that I just daydreamed that I was dancing with Isabella Swan, so I just shook my head and said, "Tell you later."


	6. Chapter 6- Don't think

**Don't forget to vote on the lemonade stand blog site. Two chapters in one day.. yeah thats how much this story is getting to me.**

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Chapter 6- Don't think...

I managed to stay focused long enough for the second song to end, for the bridal party to leave the floor, our solo dance to start up, but after the second set of turns around the room Bella's frame replaced Tanya's again and it was just us.

Staring into those eyes made the world fade away, and I liked it. I liked it so much that when she spun away from me, even for a second, I missed her—so I'd quickly pull her back and clutch her close so that I'd be at ease. And the way that she stared at me—like I was the center of _her_ universe and not the other way around— baffled me.

But I didn't have time to figure it out, because the song was over all to soon. Tanya's hands dropped from mine, and I looked over at my sister, who was fanning her eyes to keep from crying.

"Okay, again from the top," Angela ordered, and I knew that she was pleased with the results due to her lack of criticism.

The door of the ballroom creaked open and my brother poked his head in, "Sorry to interrupt your rehearsal Ange, I just came to steal Bella for a minute."

Bella was already heading in his direction, so Angela just waved him off with a smile. Bella was wiping tears from her eyes, and I fought the urge to see if she was okay. She pulled my brother into a corner by the door out of the way and they started exchanging words.

I looked over my shoulder at my sister, trying to ask her what was going on with my eyes, but Alice only shrugged that she didn't have a clue. I couldn't watch anymore because I had to go back to practicing, but a few minutes later my brother's booming voice brought us all to a halt.

"Oh God Bells, that's not what I meant at all!" I looked over to see both of them red faced, with Bella holding her hands on her hips, scowling. What did he do to her?

Tanya rolled her eyes, "What is he up to now?"

"Your guess is better than mine." I commented bridging my arm with hers.

Tanya just shook head, "He better not upset her too much. It's the day before our wedding and she needs to be focused."

"Really considerate of you Tanya," I muttered sarcastically.

She didn't even bother to defend herself, "Your brother better not ruin our wedding."

I looked up and saw Emmett coming our way, and Bella retreating into the back corner again. "Hey bro, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"We're rehearsing," Tanya reminded but dropped her hands from my shoulders.

I thought he was going to say something smart, but instead he just smiled at her, "Lovely to see you as always."

"Yeah," I nodded jerking my head to the door before turning back to Tanya, "I'll be right back."

Tanya was obviously displeased but didn't argue. I waited until the door closed behind him to get started. "So, what brings you down man?"

Em let out a sigh and got straight to it. "I need to apologize to you, about how I acted and the shit I said yesterday."

I didn't even have to hear it, I was more than ready to forgive my brother. I hated when we argued. "It's cool, Alice said you didn't mean any of it, we were both just angry and caught up in the moment—"

"See that's the thing bro, I _did_ mean it." He corrected, but he sounded a lot more patient than I was used to when it came to the Tanya discussion. "I was just wrong in how I delivered it, I've spent this entire time letting you think I'm against this just because I don't like Tanya instead of helping you understand that it's more than that. Since we were kids you've always looked up to me, when I said something was hot and not to touch, you believed me. When I said something was dangerous you walked away.

I guess I'm just realizing that you're an adult, I know I should have figured that out with you being twenty five and all, but I guess I never thought I'd see the day where a woman would come between us."

"She's not coming between us, I want us to be as close as we always were, but you're set on distancing yourself." I reminded, because this wasn't what I wanted at all.

I know, I'm wrong with that too. If I don't accept your decisions as a man then you won't come to me later in life and we'll lose our bond—and I don't want that. You're getting _married_, and that's a whole new world of stuff believe me. And maybe if I handle this Tanya thing better, I can help you avoid a few of those inevitable nights on the couch."

Was he really telling me that he wanted to work on whatever his issue was with Tanya? "Are you serious, You want to try building a relationship with my fiance?"

"I don't know how far we'll get since we're like oil and water, but yeah I'm willing to at least try to have some type of relationship where we're not sneering through our teeth at each other. There's going to be holidays, family trips, children, and a whole mess of other shit it on our futures so if you're serious about marrying her," He looked around the resort pointedly, "And you obviously are,—I need to actively support you."

My smile widened, "You have no idea what that means to me, Tanya too. She wants to be apart of our family, she just isn't very good at knowing how to fit with us."

Emmett looked like he was practically biting his cheek to keep from releasing his knee jerk response, but instead he gave me more news, "I'll be at the rehearsal dinner tonight, your bachelor party later, and I'll also be toasting at your reception."

"Really?" I kept on cheesing.

He nodded, "If somewhere you look down the road and view this wedding as a mistake, or as the best decision you ever made, I don't want me being absent on the biggest day of your life to be in that memory."

My smile fell at him feeling like it was a mistake. "I love Tanya, she's the only woman I've ever loved.."

"I know you do bro," He sighed clapping a hand on my shoulder. "And choosing to make your first love your last is a really romantic notion. It is. But I _know_ for a fact that the last person we love isn't a choice we make, life makes it for us.'

"We've been together five years—"

He interrupted me again, "—I met Rose on a cold random October day when my car broke down on the way to a date with Francesca Meadows. My phone was dead, and I went into this diner to see if I could use their phone. She was there getting take out and I remember being stunned stupid she was so beautiful and before I could even form the words to say hello, she was out the door.

I followed her, not knowing what I was going to say, but thankfully fate handled that. She saw my car at the corner with the hood up and hazards—who knew a girl like her had a thing for classic Mustangs."

I'd heard this story several times since they met, but I didn't interrupt him. Something about the way his eyes lit up and the more details of his own thoughts made it sound completely new—like there was a bigger point to it.

"She said she knew a few things about cars and offered to take a look. I didn't think she was serious but I humored her turning the engine over a few times so that she could get a look and listen. Not only did she know exactly what was wrong with it, she said if she wasn't in a rush she'd probably be able to fix it.

She called her father's shop and told him to send one of the boys to pick up their food, and to bring a tow truck for my car while they were at it. I listened to them rattle off in engine lingo and was never more turned on in my life. Watching her get lost, completely absorbed in her element absorbed me so much I probably could have listened all day. She walked with me back into the diner and asked one of the servers to keep the food under the warmer until someone came to pick it up, then she turned to me offered her hand.

I felt this spark and I knew, I couldn't explain it but I think the way we stared at each other she felt the same thing. But we both know how stubborn Rosie is, she just dropped her hand and told me that I was in good hands and good luck.

I thanked her and let her go but I was set on seeing her again. I watched her get in her car and pull off before taking a seat at the counter, and I think I was a halfway through my first cup of coffee when she tapped me on the shoulder telling me that we were in for a wait and the booths were a lot more comfortable, and the rest is history.

By Thanksgiving she was meeting Mom and Dad, and by Christmas we were road tripping to Vermont to pick up Alice and we were married the same summer. And each step I took I remember my mind telling me it went beyond all logic, that it was too soon, that we barely knew each other, and all of the other problems that could come with it. But each time my body just—took the leap on it's own—_that's_ the last person you're ever going to love. The person that you just have a knee jerk reaction to let consume you. The person where you don't think about the consequences, the politics of what family she came from, or the risks, you just _do_ and the rest comes later."

"And you think I haven't found that?" I asked figuring out his point.

He shook his head, "No, I'm not saying that, because I don't know. I'm just learning to accept that maybe your leap looks different from mine. I'm just saying I'm here whether it is or not, and I'm happy for you if you're happy."

He swung an arm around my neck to hug me, and I did the same."That's all I ever wanted." I clapped him on the back and let him go, another thought coming to me, "Not that I'm not glad you changed your mind on this—because I am—but what made you see things differently?"

He sighed and started scratching his head, "Honestly, several shots of Jaeger and Bella."

"Bella?" My eyes widened at the mention of her name.

"And Jaeger." He repeated looking somewhat guilty. "I guess Alice must have told her about our fight because she came to the room and told me to put on shoes because we were heading out."

"And you went with her..." I asked in disbelief trying to get the rest of the story.

Emmett laughed, "It's not like she left me much choice. She does this thing where she get's all determined and you can't help but listen to what she says. Hell if that didn't work I was pretty sure Rose would have thrown me at her anyway. But anyway—she opened up a tab and let me vent."

"You had girl talk with Isabella Swan," I couldn't picture it.

Em's eyes narrowed, "Call it brother, sister bonding because she vented too. Then she told me a a few harsh words to set me straight."

"Looks like I owe her a thank you," I realized beyond impressed. Was there anything she couldn't do? "Wait, then what did you do to upset her earlier?"

My brother flushed seven shades of pink—Emmett, blushing? "It was a misunderstanding, I forgot how prideful she was."

"What did you do?" I pressed again.

He decided to just tell me, "She paid for the tab last night and I offered to pay her back this morning, she didn't take it too well."

"What?" That didn't make sense, why would she get mad over that?

Emmett took it another way, "I know it was stupid, but she already paid for her trip here, she won't let us pay her for coordinating—"

"Wait, she's doing this and we're not _paying_ her? Why aren't we paying her?" I was floored. She was working nonstop, missing _actual_ work, and she wasn't being compensated for it.

"It's not like we didn't' offer, she'd just get mad anytime one of us did. In her eyes family doesn't get paid to help one another." Emmett defended before I thought the worse.

It still didn't make sense, "Well, It's _my_ wedding, she doesn't know me. Why would she inconvenience herself for me?"

"She's not here for you Narcissus, she's here to help Alice so that _she_ can be here for you." Emmett scoffed with a smirk. "Look, I gotta meet Rose for lunch, I already spent half of the morning sleeping off a hangover. I'm starved. What do you say we roll the credits on this chick flick?"

"Yeah, of course, go. I'll see you at the dinner." I rushed clapping a hand on his shoulder surprised our emotional talk lasted this long.

Coming back in I was on cloud nine, the things between my brother and I were fixed and I had Bella to thank. I definitely had to talk to her now.

"What's got you grinning from ear to ear?" Tanya wondered ducking under my arm and coming back around.

"Em and me are cool, he's going to toast us off." I explained reminding myself that the steps were _quick, quick, slow_ and not just pick her up and twirl her I was so happy.

Apparently my smile was infectious, because Tanya flashed one of her own, "Good, now we'll both have our perfect day."

I nodded looking over Tanya's head at the brown eyed girl with her nose buried in note cards, and suddenly I couldn't wait for Angela to finish this up so I could talk to her. I was probably going to be in her debt for years to come.

"Okay guys, that's it. I'll work with the bridal party one more time in the morning so don't get too wasted at the parties tonight. Edward, Tanya, you both look as perfect on the dance floor as you look any other day—just _don't_ lose that energy." Angela wrapped up looking over her glasses to point at me.

Everyone started to head off but the three of us lingered. "I better see you at my bachelorette party tonight miss." Tanya threatened with a smile and I fought to roll my eyes, she wanted to fire her not even an hour ago.

Angela smirked at me knowingly and I swore she had esp, "I wouldn't miss it for the world, see you at the dinner."

Once she left Tanya and I turned to each other, "Look, Bella's still there, _don't_ forget to ask her."

"About the game, I know." I promised feeling guiltier about it now that I knew she was here on a volunteer basis, but I still needed to talk to her.

Tanya gave my hand a squeeze and gave me a 'see you tonight' before going off with Irina. The second they were gone I took off in her direction. Hell I probably would have sprinted if there wasn't a maze of chairs and tables I had to navigate first.

She looked slightly freaked out that I was standing in front of her, which made sense considering I was smiling like a Cheshire cat, not saying anything, and probably breathing hard. Not freaky at all. "Hi," I greeted reminding myself I needed to say something.

She was still guarded, but smiled up at me all the same, "Hello." Then my eyes and her's got caught in a stare off again and I was lost for words. I had completely forgotten why I rushed over to her. "So did you need some help with something...or did you—"

I just went for it, "This is going to sound weird but do you think we can go for a walk?"

She tried to blink away her confusion and glanced nervously around the now empty ballroom. "Um, I have errands to run—"

Was she trying to let me down and say no or was she telling me time couldn't allow it? "Then I'll follow you," I rushed not realizing how crazy that sounded until her eyes flew wide, "Okay that was creepy, I just mean—"

"I know what you mean," She absolved locking her lips in an attempt to keep from laughing at me, "What is it with you Cullen boys and your stammering today?"

I relaxed a bit once I realized she took it in good humor, "You didn't answer my question"

Bella Swan's eyes really did reveal all of her thoughts, I could practically _see_ the gears turning in that head of hers tossing over the options, no doubt weighing what she had to do versus how much time I would take up. I thought she was going to tell me no but she surprised me, throwing the black binder into her bag and shrugging, "Sure."

—

"So what can I do for you Edward?" She pressed once we were outside and walking the garden space for the ceremony. There was a small layout issue she had to handle first, and I just sat back and watched her work.

I smiled at her, "Isn't it obvious? I'm here for my dream talk?" Bella's eyes widened in surprise, "You...weren't going to talk to me were you?"

Her eyes fell to her shoes and she shook her head, "I didn't think you'd need one." She admitted honestly, then her stomach growled and her eyes flashed back up with embarrassment, "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you're hungry and I'm keeping you from lunch, if anyone should be sorry it's me." She probably didn't eat a thing all day and I was no better. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

She looked surprised but didn't fight me, the phone in her hands chiming a message. She sighed and slid her fingers across the touch screen before typing back a response furiously with both of her thumbs. "Do you mind if we go to a restaurant here, it'll help me kill two birds with one stone?"

"Lead the way," I didn't care where we ate, I just didn't want her out of my sight yet.

We walked and talked about the basics stopping ever so often for her to send another message, or to answer a call say a few words and hang back up. The stream of rings and alerts kept coming the entire walk and even through being seated and ordering. I didn't have her full attention until the waiter sat our food in front of us.

"Okay, I'm all yours," She promised sitting the phone down with another apologetic smile. The phone chimed again before I could answer and she hurriedly sent off another message and let the phone drop in her bag, "Now I'm _really_ yours, sorry."

I chuckled letting her off the hook, "Does it always do that?"

"For a wedding your size, I'm lucky." She joked grabbing a fry practically moaning into her mouth at the taste.

The sound shot straight below the belt and made me drop my fork into my side dish of dressing. "Shit." I hissed trying to find the best way to fish it out.

"Here I won't need mine," She offered sliding the set across the table completely oblivious to her actions.

I cleared my throat and took the linen wrapped silverware to finish my salad., "Thanks."

"So..." She pressed peeling the tomato from her burger, "you obviously want to talk to me."

"Can I ask one question first?" I requested taking a few bites from my chicken Caesar before moving on. "Why wouldn't I get a dream talk?"

She took longer to chew the bite of her burger than the first one, undoubtedly trying o figure out what she was going to say next. "Honestly, I didn't think you'd need one," she admitted after a long swallow. "You seemed happy enough today."

"Because of you." I rushed without thinking. She gave me that wide eyed confused look again, "Emmett told me what you did."

She continued to chew and shook her head, "I didn't do anything special, just gave him a fresh ear to listen."

"You did something right, that we couldn't," I praised softly reaching across the table to touch her hand. I felt that volt but I couldn't quite tell if she felt it to without her looking at me, "thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. Cullen." she choked out as professionally as possible before pulling her hand back.

We ate a few more minutes in companionable silence before I felt comfortable enough to start asking my questions. "So, you live in California?"

"San Francisco," She volunteered focusing less on her food and more on me.

"Are you from there?" I pressed trying to find the right question to get her talking on her own.

She shook her head, "No, originally from Phoenix, I moved to San Francisco to work for Happily Ever After, an event planning firm based there."

"Mom said you work for a pretty famous planner...that must be fun." I guessed.

She rolled her eyes and rocked her head back and forth agreeing and disagreeing at the same time, it was cute. "Yes and no, Zafrina can be a bit of a headache, but she is brilliant. A lot of people throw in their planning books after a year of working for her. She's hard to please and fills our schedules to maximum capacity."

"So, where would you be if you weren't here?"

She took a few sips of her drink, looking more at ease. "At the Versace Party in Miami."

"Versace?" I echoed waiting for her to elaborate.

She caught it, "Every year the designers for Versace throw a party at the mansion to release their coming line for the year. They let some press in, get the whispers and buzz going, celebrities are in the mix. It's supposed to be pretty fun."

"And you're blowing that off to come here? Your boss must have hated that."

She shrugged, "She wasn't pleased, but Alice needed me and I haven't taken time off since graduation. What could she do but give me the time off I asked for? As long as I'm in Sacramento by Thursday there's no issue."

"What's happening in Sacramento?"

"A very private union of two very private people," She whispered conspiratorially with a smile before returning to her food.

I waited, "Is that all I get? That can't be it."

"My named carved at the bottom of a twenty page confidentiality agreement says 'yes', that's all you're getting." She refused still smiling.

"So you're working with big names this early in your career. No wonder Mom and Dad are so proud of you." I grinned with her.

Once again she tried to shake off the compliment, "Esme and Carlisle are great, they'd be proud of me if I was still fetching Zafrina's coffee order. Which I still do sometimes."

"No Bella, let me tell you. I've _never_ heard my mom speak so highly about someone that she didn't give birth to." I hoped she realized how big of a deal she was to them.

Her smile widened at the mention of them, "They're like parents to me, so it means a lot that they care."

"And your actual parents? They aren't just as proud?" I poked wondering why she hadn't mentioned them.

Her smile fell, "No, not exactly."

"Want to talk about it?" I offered after the server dropped the check off and kept going.

She sighed but was smiling when she looked back up at me, "There isn't really much to talk about. We didn't really separate on good terms when I went off to college. They saw my life going in one direction and I saw it going another."

"Which is?" I wanted to know, I had to know.

"Well, I turned down a full ride at Duke to go to Champlain." The way she rushed the words , like they were no big deal made my eyes pop out of my head. I could see why her parents wouldn't be thrilled, turning down an Ivy League school must have shocked them. "Yeah, that's the look when I tell everybody at first." The waiter came back with a receipt and she signed standing up and I wondered when she had time to pay. "Ready?"

I was going to argue her paying for our lunch but I didn't know her enough to not offend her, and I still wanted to talk to her so instead I thanked her.

Once we were outside I practically assaulted her with more questions. "What were you going to study at Duke? Why would you choose Champlain over an Ivy League university?"

"Easy Cullen," She laughed leading me to the next unknown stop, she was walking so fast her hair blew slightly. "I was going to study medicine, become a doctor, but then I helped a friend plan her sweet sixteen and I was hooked. I loved everything about it, the structure, the rush of fixing an emergency, the feeling of helping someone make their dreams come to life—even if it's for just a day— it's exhilarating.

I entertained the idea of continuing the path I thought I wanted since middle school but worked up the nerve to apply to Champlain just before the deadline my senior year. I figured, they get so many applicants that if I got wait listed or something, I'd have Duke to fall back on. I think my parents wanted to commit me when they found out I was giving up Duke to learn how to plan parties. They even cut me off financially for it thinking that would snap some sense in me, but I didn't expect them to understand.

I only wanted to be a doctor to help people, and in that field there's just as much sadness as there is the good stuff. With what I do now, I'm still helping people—but I also help people get their 'happy ever after' and doesn't that make the world beautiful too?"

I stared at her, just stared—because she told me she was a romantic at heart and made Duke, her plan B all in the same sentence. I liked her and questioned her sanity at the same time, but watching her talk about it she was obviously _happy_. Who could argue with that? "You're a strange creature Isabella Swan."

"I get that a lot," She smiled walking backwards into the sliding doors of the resorts lobby. She walked over to the front desk and started talking to some guy behind it like they were old friends. "Hey Kyle how's your day going?"

He perked up when he saw her, "Six hours down six to go how's yours?"

She grabbed the stationary on the counter and started scribbling. "Seven hours down, and to be continued. That is my phone number, I have a courier coming with something very special for the bride and I have to have it before the end of the night. When he gets here can you sign for it and call me at this number and I'll swing by and get it."

"Of course," He smiled shoving the number in his pocket, that number meant more to him than she realized. His smile disappeared when he saw me. "Do you know you have a shadow Bella?"

She looked over her shoulder and laughed, "He's the groom." She explained writing something else and giving him that paper. That pacified him, but annoyed me for some reason. She wrote something else, tore a piece of paper and did it again shoving both slips into her pocket. "You're the best Kyle, I'll see you in a few."

We went straight to the catering kitchen and I was almost knocked over by the pandemonium. Bella introduced me to one of the chef leads before launching into her check list. She was so focused in her world that there were several times she didn't notice me standing there and I didn't' mind because I found myself entertained just watching her.

She tasted a few new things and I was rewarded with hearing that same moans of delight finding myself wondering if she moaned that easily while— "Ready to go?" She smiled staring up only inches away from my face.

I nodded," Uh, yeah, no problem."

"This has to be boring you, why aren't you off with the guys having a beer or something?" She wondered guiding me back through the craziness of the kitchen towards the door.

She really didn't think I was here because I wanted to be, "No, it's exciting. I see why Alice called you in, I had no idea this much pandemonium is behind the scenes. Is it always like this?"

"Ha, this is calm and collected." She laughed but got back to her point, "But really, why are you here and not off with —"

Her eyes fell on a kid with black hair trying to cut a loaf of bread without squishing it, and failing. "Can you hold on a moment?" She didn't leave me a second to answer before she was at the teenagers side. "Hi, I'm Bella what's your name?"

"Uh—Embry." He stammered looking back at me probably wondering if he was in trouble.

Bella sweetly put him at ease, "I see you're having a bit of trouble there. Would you like to learn a trick?"

He nodded and stepped aside handing her the knife. Once she was in place at the cutting board, he stood behind her, getting close enough to look over her shoulder, probably too close but once again she didn't notice. "The thing about a french loaf, it's crusty around the edges, and if it wasn't it wouldn't be worth eating. Sadly, it makes it harder to cut, unless—" She flipped the bread over so the bottom was facing up, and started slicing it without effort. "see,when you cut from the bottom you don't have to use force, and you don't smash the bread."

She stepped aside and handed the knife back to him. "Thank you. I swear if I screwed up anything else today Sasha was going to have my job."

"You're in training, it takes time to learn the shortcuts." She reassured with a warm smile and a pat on the back. "This time next year I bet you'll be well on you way to being a catering lead too."

He blushed and thanked her and we were once again on our way. "So, why are you following me and not off with your friends?" I was still staring at her, "What?"

"That was nice of you," I complemented.

She brushed it off, "I learned that from this chef in D.C. while I was interning last year. I'd be an asshole not to pass it on. Now answer my question."

What was I supposed to tell her? That I wanted to know more about her so I was following her around? I had already thanked her for Emmett, so I couldn't use that excuse. I did have that one excuse still lingering, but I'd be a jerk to pull it. I didn't want be a jerk and put more work on her—especially since I got a glimpse of what she did— but I wasn't ready to part ways just yet either.

"Um, Tanya wanted the guests to play a game tonight during the rehearsal dinner—"

Her eyes flashed wide looking at her watch, "And when were you going to tell me?!"

"I'm sorry, I forgot. I told her it was too short of a notice—we don't have to do it." I tried to take it back.

She shook her head, "No, if Tanya wants a game, she gets a game." Bella put her phone to her lips pacing back and forth with narrow eyes.

"Are you mad?" I asked after watching her do it for more than a few minutes.

She shook her head, "I'm thinking."

"Do you want some help?" I offered shoving my hands in my pockets.

She shook her head, "No, that's okay. I need to figure out what I can throw together in a few hours. Something simple that wont take away from the —"

She stopped talking to stare at me, taking a few steps getting closer standing on her tip toes narrowing her eyes at mine. "Uh...Bella."

"You've helped a lot. Thank you." She breathed stepping back and dialing on her phone. "Hello Emily, it's Bella. I need a favor, can you email me the photos of the wedding party? Thank you."

I didn't really feel like I did anything, but not even two minutes later she was was downloading the pictures and opening them on by one. She took a seat on a bench and I sat next to her, watching her crop a photo of my cousin Tyler to just the eyes and his mask before saving it and moving on to another.

"What are you doing?" I wondered looking over her shoulder.

She didn't look up, "Why do people like masquerades?"

"They're fun," I guessed watching her work.

"Well that, and there's a sense of mystery behind not knowing who's behind the mask. " She explained, "A man asks a woman to dance, and she accepts. They don't know if they know each other since their faces are hidden, he's drawn to those smokey eyes, and her his straight chiseled jaw.

The thrill of the unknown plays the night through, the curiosity lingering to know who's underneath she's lost in his strong grip—"

"He's lost in hair that smells like strawberries." I added picturing the scene probably much more different than she was. She looked up at me and I corrected, "In theory."

She cleared her throat, and looked away, "Well, when the nights over they part ways, he doesn't get her name of vise versa, but the night sticks with both of them forever... At least that's what I think about when I think of masquerades."

"Okay, but where does the game come in?" I wondered.

She loaded them all into a file and sent the somewhere before answering me. "Your guests are going to guess the wedding party members based on the eyes behind the masks. I'm gong to make the call and get these blown up and hung around the dance floor and I'll figure out a prize once I make a few calls to set this in motion.

"Clever." I commended, "How exactly did I help with this?"

"The first thing I remember about you at the welcome party were your eyes." She admitted casually. "They're a very pretty green." She stared up in them a bit longer, and I think she got lost. I leaned closer to her without a second thought and she gave me that look like she wanted to kiss me.

Somehow she was able to break the spell and stood up. I let out a sigh unable to hold back, "Can we talk about something?"

"Sure, what?" She agreed breathless sending a message that had to be two pages long.

"The awkwardness between us."

Her head shot up, "We don't have awkwardness Edward."

"Ok so we don't need to talk about the Welcome party?" I argued in disbelief.

She shook her head, "You mean when I was choking on quiche? Embarrassing and maybe a little awkward, but I was caught by surprise, you can't blame me for that."

"And outside of our hotel rooms after that?" I added.

She was still adamant, "Not awkward."

"Okay, on the captain's deck on the way here, it's impossible for you to say that wasn't awkward." I listed knowing for a fact there was something there.

She ran a hand through her long curls in frustration, "Edward, please. Think about what you're saying. Think about what you're trying to get me to talk about. Think about the _ramifications_ of what you're trying to talk about. Think about where it could go even if we did entertain the discussion."

She was right, I had sworn to stay away from her for this very reason and ended up spending the day with her. It was too complicated to even mention, so we shouldn't talk about it."You have a point." I sighed in defeat.

"_I_ think I should go, I have a lot more to do, and I need to clear my head." She rushed away on her heels before I could respond leaving me sitting there with my thoughts.

Shit.

—

"Edward what are you—" Bella blinked up at me completely confused.

I pressed a finger to her soft red lips trying to shush her. "No, just listen for a second please."

She nodded silently. It wasn't like she could go anywhere, her back was pressed against the door of her room one of my arms beside her head and I was leaning so closely she'd be in my arms if she so much as turned.

I know how wrong it was for me to be here, and I could get caught any second, but I didn't care. I had spent the day with the most amazing woman I ever met and I had spent all rehearsal dinner wondering when Tanya lost that title in my eyes? The dinner was a success, which didn't surprise me, but the way she crashed my bachelor party—it broke what little restraint I had.

"I have been _drawn_ to you since we met. I can't get you out of my head, you are in thoughts non-stop. I'm irritated that my family knows you and I don't, I'm frustrated that I want to know you and can't, and I'm driving myself crazy thinking about what it all means."

I dropped my finger from her lips and planted it back at the other side of her head on the wall, deciding to go for broke with my confessions. "All night I've been thinking about getting you out of that dress, touching you without you pulling away. Kissing you, and those lips actually opening up to let me.

I'm sick of thinking, Bella. For once, I want to just _leap_ and worry about everything else later. I want to get lost in whatever _this_ is because I'm worried that if I let it walk away I won't feel it again. God please tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way?" I begged trying to clear my thoughts from the strawberry intoxication.

"You're not." She whispered, her eyes never leaving mine, but they were torn and nervous.

I cupped her chin tilting her face up to mine. "Then leap with me Bella...because I'm tired of fighting not to kiss you. But I know if I do I won't be able to stop."

"Then don't." She challenged handing me the key card with trembling hands..

I wrapped a hand around her waist to support her enough to open the door and pressed her against it the minute we were both inside. I crushed my lips against hers, and all thoughts of the world outside her room left with it.

Her lips were soft, warm, and hungry. She moaned into my mouth and arched her body into mine grabbing my shirt. Our eager lips echoed with pent up frustration, our tongues untamed and raw with desire and sexual promise and when she pulled away from me to breathe we both knew—kissing wasn't going to be enough.

I pulled her closer, my lips finding hers again, and as sexy as that the satin dress was on her body, I wanted her out of it. Nipping at her collar bone my hands roamed the back of her dress searching for a zipper and I practically growled when I couldn't' find it.

Bella was too lost in unbuttoning my shirt and kissing me to offer much assistance, and after trying to find one on the sides I gave up grabbing the dress at her shoulder blade ripping the one strap holding it all up.

She gasped when the dress fell into a pool of satin at her feet. The lust in her eyes was unmistakable and she hurriedly undid my belt buckle while I shook out of my shirt. Leaving both of us in our underwear and at the point of no return. I touched the smooth skin of her bare torso and she trembled, panic setting in.

My lips were at her ear trying my best to put her at ease, "Leap with me Bella...don't think..."

* * *

** I had to keep it short because if I didn't end it there it'd be too long. Now, I expect a lot of emotions from this chapter. Some of you will be excited, some of you will be frustrated i left you hanging, and some of you don't want this to happen at all but there WILL be a lemon next chapter. For the ones of you that follow my actual writing outside of fanfic you know what to expect from a sex scene from me. From those that have read my my fanfic stuff from earlier on, there is no FADE TO BLACK and all of a sudden I'm writing about the next morning. I warned you this was going to be more in my normal writing style so bare with me because it wont always be hearts and flowers. The characters wont be like twilight's versions and that doesn't make them bad... just more human. I hope I keep you all interested. Until next time.**

**DinishaRob**


	7. Chapter 7- Just Do

**Author's note: Hello all, I know I normally post on Sundays, but I had some free time and I figured you all were dying to see if Edward was dreaming or not. Hopefully I don't disappoint.**

* * *

Chapter 7- ...Just do

"Are you okay Bella?" Kyle wondered sliding the package across the counter, but waiting on an answer before he let it go.

No, I wasn't alright, 'What harm could one walk do?' a lot. I expected Edward to be his normal charming, charismatic, sexy self. I expected him to give me some random request and leave, all of which would keep me in his presence for five minutes tops, then I'd fade back to the background until this wedding was over. That was what I prepared myself for.

I _wasn't_ expecting to spend most of my day with him. I wasn't expecting him to actually have an interest in _me;_ want to know my likes, dislikes, and how I worked. I didn't expect him to actually want to address what ever was or wasn't happening between us. I wasn't expecting it—so I had to shut it down.

There was nothing to talk about. I knew I was in love with Edward, but what sane person would say that to a guy that was basically a stranger? Who would say that to a person who was getting _married_ the next day?

Hell the only sane thing I'd done since I got here was run away from that conversation—and Edward Cullen with it. Truth be told —I was mad at myself. Mad because until I said 'yes' to Edward's _harmless_ walk, the logical side of my brain had managed to keep the fantasy side under control with the reminder that Edward and I wold never work and could never happen. Now, after several hours alone with him, my logical side was starting to see the fantasy sides point making all of this much more dangerous for my heart after he said his 'I do's' tomorrow. Yep— the last thing this girl needed was to give herself was hope that he could want me too.

"Yeah, I'm good Kyle," I lied smoothly, "this weekend is just draining the hell out of me. I have another courier coming with a delivery, this one is on a tighter deadline than the last one. Like—within the next hour type of deadline."

"I'll call you as soon as it comes in," he promised sympathetically. "Don't work yourself too hard okay?"

The corner of my mouth quirked into a small smile. He didn't know me very well, throwing myself into hard work was exactly what I needed. Distractions. I needed as many as possible or I wouldn't survive this weekend—but I'd have to find another way to deal sadly.

"Don't worry, I'll have some down time after the dinner tonight. The bride and groom are celebrating their last nights single, most of the under thirties will be partying, and the over thirties will be off doing—whatever they do. I'm free."

"Really?" He asked genuinely surprised. "I figured the night before the big day would be the worst hours of a planners week."

I shook my head trying to keep a smile, "Myth. The night before neither side is worried about any wedding details, they're too busy celebrating. If a planner does their job right, the night before is our dullest—bubble bath, hotel cable, bed by ten type of dull."

"Then come out tonight with me and my friends. There's a pretty cool club on the other side of the island." He offered tearing off the pink piece of the carbon paper and handing it to me.

My mind was running over the best way to let him down. I couldn't take the boyfriend route since he wasn't exactly asking me on a date. My face must have shown that because Kyle insisted, "Oh come on Bella, you said yourself that it was going to be a snooze fest tonight. What else would you be doing?"

Probably curled up on my bed with the Cullen wedding binder engraving each page into my brain as a reminder of why I needed to get Edward Cullen out of my mind. But that wouldn't make sense if said it aloud. Realizing it didn't even make sense internally, I gave up. "Reading."

"Reading." He repeated rolling his eyes, "Bella, you've probably put in more hours in two days than most people do in a week. We're young, let's get drunk, blow off steam, distract ourselves from responsibility—at least until it's time to clock in again."

"Distractions..." He had me there, my route wouldn't exactly distract me from Edward. "Two conditions; I can't afford to get _shitfaced_, and I need to be back by no later than two."

Kyle started to protest, "But you just said tonight was —"

"_Tonight_ yes, but in the morning I'm going to be running around passing out hangover cures to every Tom, Dick, and Harry; they might need me early." I explained with no doubt in my mind. Good thing it was an afternoon ceremony, I'd have time to sleep and they'd have time to recuperate.

Kyle gave in, "Then, I'll watch your alcohol consumption and shove you in a cab no later than one-thirty."

That wouldn't be necessary, but I couldn't help smiling at the fact he wanted to look out for me. "Deal. I'll meet you in the lobby before your shift is up." I grinned walking away to get some work done. "Don't forget to call the second that courier gets here."

"Will do Bella," He grinned back watching me disappear.

—

Beautiful. That was the only word to describe the bridal suite after I did my final walk-through. The two bedroom suite with plenty of wide open space, and natural light had been tastefully decorated in shades of gold and lavender—the colors for the daylight portion of the wedding. As night fell, and the reception started up, the colors would be a dark plum and silver.

I checked the first bedroom to make sure it had everything. A lavender satin robe for each bridesmaid to wear while getting hair and make- up done as well as their dresses for after. Nothing made getting ready photos look tackier than old clothes, flashing bra straps, and dirty flip flops—Alice remembered class well. Once I was satisfied, I checked the master.

The room Tanya would get dressed had an entirely different set up. It was important for her to have space for herself, but still have her bridesmaids accessible if needed. Her dress and robe were the only garments hanging in the wardrobe. I took the liberty of laying out her earrings, garter, shoes, necklace, and veil in an easily accessible place to help the day flow easier.

After stashing a basic emergency kit away on the closet floor and everything in the room passed my mental inspection, I opened the box I got earlier containing _my_ gift for Tanya. I placed the clear teapot on the center of the table and arraigned the matching pieces of the set around it. Then put a box of Jing Flowering Tea, next to it before taking the time to pen her a simple note.

I gave the room one more look over, waiting for the _it_ picture to form, but it didn't feel like it normally did when it hit me. Normally I'd get a sense of satisfaction from a job well done, but instead I just felt sadness.

I could picture her, sitting in front of the vanity mirror in her gold satin robe, her stylists telling her how beautiful she was going to be once they finished with her—her mother reminding her that she was beautiful beforehand.

She'd take a few calming sips of her tea with deep breaths, her friends excitedly poking their heads in to check on her progress in various states of undress. They'd be cracking jokes, reminiscing, and fussing over her until one of them suggests putting on a playlist to either psych her up or ease her down.

Of course, she'd be going through the normal bride-to-be panic attack. Stuck in that limbo where she's excited about marrying the guy of her dreams, and freaked out by everything that comes after, and if she has what it takes. Then, just before she ruins her makeup sweating from fear of the unknown Kate walks in with her phone, a text from Edward.

It'd be something simple like 'can't wait to marry you' or 'don't keep me waiting' but it'd be just enough to make her remember it was Edward waiting for her, and as long as they were together everything else didn't matter.

She'd slide into her dress and fidget while her mother and Kate tried to help her despite their several attempts to get her to calm down. But they wouldn't understand, she _couldn't_ calm down. The only thing between her was a line of buttons holding her dress open. Who the hell invented buttons so small that you needed a hook to fasten them anyway? And why so many?

"Oh how lovely Bella," Sarah praised from behind me. She scared me half to death, but thankfully she pushed me out of my picturing moment. "Was the teapot your idea?"

I cleared the emotion out of my throat and nodded, "Yeah, just something she mentioned during our talk. I take it the dinner's over?"

"Yes, went off without a hitch. They loved the game by the way." She added for good measure. "Good call to offer Edward and Tanya's masks from the welcome party as a prize, it really made them competitive."

"Well, they were one of a kind," I shrugged still not turning around, pretending to occupy myself with the trash from the set. "People tend to walk something no one else has. It's not like Tanya or Edward were going to wear them again, different masks for the reception and all. Thank you for covering for me."

Sarah just nodded, "I'm honestly surprised you skipped out, there were a lot of laughs."

"I needed to make sure the suites were in order for tomorrow," I sighed, trying to make it sound regretful. I thought skipping the dinner and avoiding Edward would keep any emotions in check, but walking the suite just hit me like a ton of bricks. At least around a crowd I would have had to focus.

Sarah lingered a bit longer looking around, "So, what next? Are we up for an all night detail check?"

"We sleep Sarah, the night before is every planners sanctuary." I denied.

She was just as skeptical as Kyle, "Seriously? Nothing? Are you just saying that to shoulder the work yourself? What are you _really_ doing tonight?"

"I'm not doing any work tonight," I assured, "I'm actually going out with Kyle and a few friends to some club on the other side."

"Muse?" She guessed with an unexplainable smirk.

I didn't trust it, "Yeah, why? Is there something wrong with Muse?"

"No," She shook her head quickly, "I just didn't expect someone like you to be interested in a place like Muse. No offense, but it's not a work-a-holic unwinding type place. I practically crawl in the next day after a night there."

I tried not to take offense to her statement, I knew she was just trying to warn me what I'd be getting into, but she was _thirty_ I was twenty-two. Just because I was capable of keeping my private life and work life separate didn't mean I didn't have one. I could party the night away and still come in the next day and work circles around my coworkers. "I think I can handle it."

She nodded giving my blue blouse and slacks a glance over, "What are you going to wear?"

"I have just the dress." I smirked in no way foolish enough to _not_ pack a club dress when going to visit my best friend. Last time I did that Alice took me shopping and we left with eight dresses. "Will I see you there?"

She shook her head and raised her hands in surrender, "No, my work day starts at noon."

"Mine starts at ten," I winked holding the suite door open so that we could leave together.

—

I checked my watch the minute I got back to my room. With less than an hour to get ready I had never been more thankful that I worked for Zafrina. She would call me at all hours of the morning expecting me in the office in less time.

Going about my ritual in a rush, I stripped down to my underwear before running into the bathroom to switch on my curling iron and rub Nair on my legs. Knowing the hair remover would take a minimum of five minutes to work, I used that time to lay out my dress, shoes, and anything else I'd need. By then it was time to hit the shower to rinse my legs, and bathe. Since I'd washed my hair earlier this morning I saved myself some time there.

Patting myself dry I checked my cell for the time—twenty-five minutes to go. I abandoned the bathroom, leaving the door open to let the steam out, jumping into my panties and a strapless bra, moisturizing before putting on my dress.

With a steam free mirror, I used my flat iron to smooth any potential frizz, before going over it again to curl it—a light coat of hair spray to lock it all in place for the night. I finished with a hint of makeup and with ten minutes to spare I looked myself over in the full length mirror.

The rich wine color of the dress along with the luster of the satin fabric gave my skin the appearance of being flushed on its own. It was the closest shade I could get to a pure red without looking pale and awkward. The heart shape neckline and the strapless bra flashed a tasteful amount of cleavage without giving off an heir of desperation. The short length of the dress with the high heels made my legs look longer, but it wasn't tight enough to restrict my movements or creep up as I walked. A thin trail of a jeweled pattern traced up one side and across my bust before finishing as a single strap on my opposite shoulder. My hair covered my shoulders, back and neckline in large spirals, and my eyes had just enough makeup to pop.

"I look pretty damn good," I praised only giving myself a coat of lip gloss before sliding my id, credit card, and both of my cell phones into the tiny purse before heading downstairs.

I heard Angela's melodic voice the second I stepped off the elevator, "Bella is that you?"

"Yeah," I blushed, for some reason feeling guilty that someone saw me heading out to be social. I shouldn't have, she wasn't dressed much different. "You look nice, heading to the party?"

"I'm about to leave now, are you coming? We can go together." She offered all smiles, looking me over but in no way judging my attire. Alice planned both parties, she reserved a private area in a club just off the resort for Tanya's party while the guys—well I didn't know where they'd be at all.

"Oh no, I have plans with Kyle—the receptionist—a few friends of his are going to Muse tonight and I said I'd tag along." I explained.

She seemed honestly disappointed, "Well damn, I wish you were coming, but we'll have all morning to share stories. You look amazing by the way."

"Thank you," I smiled. "Have a nice time."

I hurried over to the reception desk before anyone else could see me, and poor Kyle's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "I'm going to have to keep an eye on you tonight for real."

"Flattery is encouraged, but have you _seen_ these girls from across the pond? I'm starting to think they'd look good in saran wrap," I conspired jerking my head towards three of Tanya's bridesmaids laughing as they were heading out, so caught up in conversation they barely noticed us. They screamed designer from head to toe and looked damn good in it.

Kyle smirked jerking his head to another guest leaving on her own, "One of them practically _is_ wearing saran wrap."

"So, how long until your shift is over?" I asked pretending to be impatient.

He laughed checking his watch. "I am counting down my last thirteen minutes, but I have some reports to finish before the next guy gets here. Wait for me in the lobby?"

"Of course," I excused completely understanding the need to tie up loose ends. "I'll be parked right on that sofa." Kyle smiled and disappeared in the office, but not before telling me how awesome I was.

I decided to check my actual cell phone while I had the time to spare since I'd been neglecting all weekend. There wasn't much there, just a missed call and a voice mail from Sam Uley. Since it was from work I checked it right away hoping I didn't miss something important. Thankfully he was just calling to remind me that he wouldn't be in Sacramento in time to meet the florists so I'd have to be there and I was already set to have that covered. I expected him to be anxious since both of our asses were on the line, but I cared about mine own ass enough to make sure both of ours were safe.

Surprisingly, there was nothing from Jake under missed calls, texts, or in my voice mails. He hadn't called me since our argument this morning over Emmett. That meant he knew exactly how mad I'd gotten and was willing to back off and give me space. I shuddered to think what would be waiting for me when I got home in an attempt to make up.

The sound of a cat call echoing though the lobby made my head snap up. There was Rose, in a black satin cocktail dress, with harlot red heels, and lipstick. Our dress shared the same type of neckline, but that was pretty much all it had in common with mine. Her dress was tighter, shorter, and her curvy body held everything in place on its own, no strap necessary.

I stood to greet her, "You look like _that_ and you're cat calling _me_? Ridiculous."

"You look hot Bells, accept a compliment," She ordered putting all of her wavy blonde strands to one side. "So you're coming with us?"

"Nope, heading out with a friend. Where's Allie?" I expected them to be together.

The mention of Alice's name made her eyes roll, "I don't know, but she has five minutes to get down here before I ditch the Ode to Tanya and head with you wherever you're going."

The lobby doors slid open, and Alice ran through them doing the high heeled, quick foot shuffle. She looked good in her plum colored halter dress, but she was too wide eyed and panicked for me to compliment her. "Oh my God Bella, it's horrible."

"What's horrible?" I asked the same time Rose snapped, "Where have you been Alice?"

She chose to answer Rosalie first—probably because Rosalie's tone was more dangerous. "Spying on the boys, and it's _horrible_. I messed up."

"What did you mess up on?"I sighed wondering how bad it could actually be.

She took a few deep breaths, calming herself enough to tell the story, "So, I thought since Edward's spent the past seven years in England, and most of his friends were there he'd want a traditional stag night."

I was familiar with the UK version of a bachelor party. It basically consisted of the groom and his mates hopping from bar to bar getting shitfaced until the groom embarrassed himself enough to call it a night. "Okay...so where does the tour start and end?"

"That's the problem!" She shrieked, "It's _one_ place."

My mouth dropped in an 'o' while Rose just looked between us completely confused. "Okay, since no one has given me an event planner glossary for me to know what any of this means, one of you explain."

I explained quickly. "The purpose of a stag is to get shitfaced. Guys remove the _extra_ flare that comes with a bachelor party for a chance to hop from place to place drunkenly entertaining themselves. If they're all in one place, they're just going to be bored, and drunk."

"Oh," Rose sympathized. "Well that's no good."

"What are we going to do?" Alice cringed going back to panic mode.

Well so much for the 'night before the wedding' misnomer. "You both are going to Tanya's party, _I_ am going to take care of Edward's."

"But you're going out with the guy," Rose reminded.

Alice snapped out of her panic, for the first time actually taking in my dress, "You're going out with a guy? Oh no."

"It was just some club with him and his friends, no big deal. I can take care of this and if I have time, meet him there." I shrugged waving off my plans.

It still wasn't nonchalant enough to keep Alice from feeling guilty. "Bella I don't think you should cancel. You worked really hard and you deserve a break. I can do this—"

"It's nothing Alice." I promised telling her the one hundred percent truth. "I can fix this, besides what if something goes wrong at Tanya's party and you're not there. So go—keep an eye on things, and have a drink and a dance or two."

Both of them eyed me carefully, but I knew they'd take me seriously. "Are you _sure_ Bella?" Rose pressed for a final time. I nodded and she surrendered. "Okay, let's go Alice."

"But—" she started to protest.

Rose yanked her by the elbow, "No but's let's go. You''ve got me dolled up, Emmett's off with his brother, and I'm going to get drunk somewhere."

I watched them both hail a cab before running a hand through my hair trying to figure out what I was going to do. It was already ten o'clock on a Saturday night—there weren't many options for me. Pulling out my cell I made a quick call to Sam praying he wouldn't be too busy with the prep work in Miami to take my call.

Hanging up with a list of mental notes I let out a relieved breath—it felt good to know we had some connection in the area, now I just had to call them, drop Zafrina's name a few times and work a bit of my own magic.

"Hey you ready to go?" Kyle smiled making me stop in my tracks—I was a second away from heading straight to work completely forgetting my previous engagement. How was I going to cancel on him?

Apparently my face did it for me, "You're not coming are you?" He guessed, his smile slightly falling.

"An emergency just came up," I sighed feeling like an ass. "On the one night they're not supposed to."

"Well, if emergencies came on schedule they wouldn't be emergencies." He sighed, oddly accepting. "Join us if you finish up at a decent time?"

"You bet," I promised without hesitation, because he really was a sweet person, and I had no doubt we'd would have had a good time.

After telling him how sorry I was for the tenth time, and him forgiving me for the eleventh, I had calls to make and work to do. My first call, to Aro Volturi.

—

Painful. That was the only word I could use to describe the scene I peeked my head in on. Edward, Emmett, and all thirty of his friends were painfully bored. The wide open bar was being put to use, and there was a game on, hell—a few of the guys were even sitting at tables watching it.

A top 100 station played over the PA that no one seemed interested in—painful_._

Wanted to do this behind the scenes, I took the side way into the kitchen to work some mojo on the manager to actually open the doors to the bar for anyone who wanted to enter. Once things kicked in, people on the resort would flock, and the less of a sausage fest this was the better.

I had to argue it a bit, reminding him that approving more patrons meant more money, and since they we were keeping them open past normal hours anyway, they might as well make as much money as possible. He argued about having to bring in more workers to accommodate them, but I in turn promised him that particular part would be covered too. He wouldn't even have to cover opening the kitchens. All I needed were the four bartenders I already had available.

"Alright Isabella, you win. I'll open the doors." He finally relented all red faced and frustrated. "Do you need anything else from me?"

"Just access to the dee-jay booth." I smiled sweetly, trying not to let the fact I was getting my way so easily go to my head.

He sighed but chuckled, "Alright, I need to search for the key, that's usually Tammy's thing but I'll find it."

Now all I had to do was wait for each stage of my cavalry to show up. Braving myself to take another peek at the guys out front, I frowned seeing that the situation was pretty much the same. Emmett, Edward and three other guys were still having their conversation, but all of them kept checking their watches, dangerously on the verge of leaving.

The wedding cellphone rang and I answered it without hesitation. "Hello."

"Isabella Swan?" A male voice answered in question.

"This is she."

"We're here for the delivery, we're just having trouble finding which bar—"

I started taking the quickest path to the front door without thinking, "The Blue Room, the doors are locked right now, but If you meet me at the side entrance I can sign for it and settle payment."

"Bella?" Emmett's voice called making me and everyone guy in the room freeze.

Well I was caught now, so much for staying in the background. But Edward almost falling out of his chair was enough to make getting caught worth it. "Hi Em!" I smiled meeting him halfway to hug him.

He hugged me but still looked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Working," I answered simply.

He gave me a pointed glance over, "In that?"

"Yes." I muttered sheepishly wondering if I'd still be getting the disapproving gaze if he saw Alice and Rosalie's dresses for the night. "I mean— I was going out, but then _this_ happened, so I came to fix it."

Emmett sighed, "Bella... "

"Hello Isabella." Alistair greeted passing by on his way back from getting another beer. "You one of the guys tonight?"

I kept my smile cordial though Emmett was obviously mad he interrupted, "No, just here to fix the party."

"The party doesn't really need _fixing_, just —_entertainment. _Are you going to entertain us Isabella?" His haughty British accent didn't give away whether or not he was razzing or calling me a stripper but I didn't have time to care either way.

"Go sit the hell down before I sit you down," Emmett threatened pointing to a table next to Edward's. Alistair rolled his eyes but didn't argue, "Learn to take a joke Cullen, see you around Isabella."

"What's going on?" Edward asked coming over to see why Emmett decided to go 'protect-o' on me.

I didn't even get to answer, "Oh, your old dorm-mate just decided to ask Bella if she was our _entertainment_ for tonight."

Edward's eyes widened in disbelief "What?"

"Boys, boys, I'm hereto_save_ the night, not cause problems, and he's right technically. I _am_ responsible your entertainment." I shrugged trying to make a joke of it. Both sets of eyes quickly snapped at mine making me laugh, "Don't give me that look Emmett Cullen, you'd like it and you know it, now both of you go sit down before I sit you down."

I decided to address them all since I involuntarily had their attention anyway. "Hello boys, if you're thinking about leaving, _don't_. Trust me you'll regret it tomorrow if you do. First things first, I'm going to go get you guys some grease to go with all of this alcohol.. Be right back."

Then I sprinted to the side door as quickly as I could to sign for the massive delivery of buffalo wings, and potato skins before letting them sit it in the back. Before I could close the door a girl in a neon pink tank top and cut off shorts ran up to me.

"Are you Isabella?"

She was a stunning blonde, so stunning I didn't need to guess who she was. "Yes, and you're one of the girls Aro sent. Please tell me you're not the only girl—"

"No, there's seven of us, we just wanted to make sure we were in the right spot before we hopped out. I'm Heidi." She greeted before waving over her shoulder to two black SUV's running idle.

I let out another breath. Aro had the best performers in the immediate area, and at the mention of Zafrian's name he offered me as many as he could gather on such short notice. "Good, good."

I watched them all get out wearing varying shades of neon and cut denim, all beautiful, professional, and surprisingly friendly. "So, what do you need from us?" A tall brunette in lime green named Charlotte asked.

"I'm sure you've all done the sexy serving thing." I guessed.

Heidi just laughed, "That's a walk in the park for us."

I'd done bachelor parties before, and this was no different than directing other forms of staff."Good that's all you have to do. The bartenders are in there, just tell them the drinks you want, the food is already grouped individually, you just have to make sure no table is bare. Flirt, be your normal sexy selves and collect tips for a few hours. Where are my headliners?"

A redhead about my height poked her hand up. "I'm Maggie, your snake charmer. Mary and Bree are on their way but I can keep the guys entertained until they show."

"Okay, I have a place for you to change in back, and you girls come with me." I instructed all business. The mood of the room shifted when I brought the girls in and pointed the way for Maggie to take her bags and get prepared. "Okay boys, you see these lovely ladies in neon, they're here to make sure you always have a drink in your hand so be nice to them."

They broke away to get the guys drink requests one table at a time and I ran off to the deejay booth finding a classic rock play list to start things off. Looking down I let out my final sigh of relief, yeah, I could do this.

—

This was in no way how I planned on spending my night, ducked under the arm of a wedding guest helping him navigate the confusing halls to his room while listening to him imitate a jukebox out of tune. . "Alright, let's get you back to your room, or you're never going to—"

Riley immediately jumped from Rush to Bon Jovi at the mention of 'never'. "It's my liifffffeeeee, it's now or neverrrrrr..." He'd been doing that since I got him out of the bar, singing a song that came to mind based on whatever he was happening, starting with 'lady in red'—it was the longest thirty yards I'd ever walked.

I decided it was probably a better idea keep my mouth shut once we stepped off the elevator— I'd seen another side of him completely. When Emmett introduced us at the welcome party, I could tell he was more laid back than Edward's other Cambridge friends, but he still gave off a polished heir. Now, he was a stumbling mess, his high alcohol level encouraging him to throw his inhibitions to the wind and take a shot on American Idol.

The weight of his arm left my neck, the thumb trailing down my spine before landing on my hip, his hand smoothly ghosting between my waist and ass.

"Riley, let's hold on to my neck okay?" I requested sweetly. I was practically hugging his waist to support him, but had no qualms with letting go and dropping him face first if he was going to be touchy.

He put his arm back in place so quickly, I honestly didn't think he even noticed where his hand was, "...hold me closer tiny daaaaannnnnccccerrrr.r..."

"Okay, we're here," I breathed cheerily, setting him against the wall so that I could pat him down for the key glad to find it in his jacket pocket. I held the door open with my foot and guided him in before he had the other guests peeking their heads out. "Alright, nighty night."

Once he was safe behind the door, I went back down to the empty bar to pick up the personal things I'd stashed away in the deejay booth before the manager could lock things up for the night. There were still a few guys making their way back, some alone, some with their buddies, and others with girls they met once I opened the doors to other resort guests. They'd find their own way, so I didn't worry about them. It was already an hour past my self appointed bed time.

I had plans to head straight to my room but those were once again halted when I found a cross armed Emmett sitting on the leather sofa in the lobby. "Emmett what are you doing over here?"

"I lost my room key." He mumbled so low that I could barely hear him.

There were five levels of Emmett drunk; there was sick drunk, sad drunk, happy/affectionate drunk, keep the party going drunk, and petulant drunk. To my knowledge he hadn't gotten sick drunk or sad drunk since college so I had never seen those sides—happy, and keep the party going were the only ones I'd seen so far.

No one but Rosalie had ever seen the petulant toddler level and only a handful of times (thus giving her right to name it) but me and Alice had both been dying to see it since she told us about it.

I tried to keep my smile hidden but a giggle slipped as I looked down at him. "Awe, sweetie are you sure you checked both pockets?"

"It's not funny Bella, I checked everywhere and I just want to go to sleep." He groaned tilting his head up in my direction but keeping his eyes closed.

I wanted to hug him he was so cute. "You're right, it's not. I'm going get a copy of your key, and we'll go to your room okay. Don't move." He nodded and I hurried off to smooth talk the overnight receptionist.

Once I got him a new card I tugged him up not that he needed much help, butI kept an arm around his waist just in case though. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"It was the best bachelor party ever," He mumbled not really wanting to admit he enjoyed himself.

I kept my head low so that he wouldn't see my smile. "You don't sound happy about that."

"Edward got a snake girl, a body paint girl, _and_ a fire girl at his party," He whined making me giggle again, "I only got _one_ regular girl. I'm going to get married again so you can give me do over."

I was full on laughing at that point, "You can't just get married again for the dancers at your party."

"Stop laughing Bella," He groaned again.

I sobered myself and pressed the elevator for his floor, "I'm sorry, I can't help it. You're just so adorable."

"I'm _not adorable_ I'm a six foot five grown up." He declared mid yawn making it sound _so_ convincing.

I nodded but kept smiling. "You're right, but do you really want to be a bachelor again? You know that means divorcing Rosalie."

"I'd never divorce my Rosie," He swore realizing he didn't think that remarrying thing through all the way. "She's the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe you can just get me dancers for my birthday—can you have dancers for a birthday party?"

I went to slid the key into the door but Rosalie was a step quicker wrenching it open, "Not if you want to live to see another one."

"Rosie!" he grinned immediately jumping from my arms to hers. "I missed you...you're sooo pretty, isn't she pretty Bella?"

She rolled her eyes, but didn't let go of him. She must have just got in because she was still wearing party clothes too. "Yes, she's very pretty Emmett." I placated handing her the room key. "He lost the other one apparently."

"No, he left it in the bathroom when he left." She grinned trying her best to ignore his lips at her neck to have a conversation to me. "Thanks for looking out of him."

"That's what family's for." I shrugged not really wanting to linger while affectionate drunk Emmett surfaced. "We'll talk tomorrow."

—

Getting off on my floor, I felt him before I saw him. I wasn't quite sure how it worked but the butterflies were fluttering before I even turned the corner. He was there—Edward Cullen was standing in front of my room, _knocking_.

I watched for a few seconds wondering what he wanted, if I should go over or turn on my heels and find something to do downstairs until he was gone. I managed to stay away from him for most of the night, hiding out in the deejay booth under the guise of handling the music when in reality it was automatically set.

Not even a second after deciding to abandon ship, life decided not to let me. Edward ran a hand though his hair before his head jerked in my direction keeping me still. The only choice I had was to pretend I _wasn't_ about to run away.. "Hi..." I breathed walking down the hall to him and my room.

"Hey," He breathed slightly flustered offering an explanation. "I ran into Alice on my way back in, and walked her up...I thought...maybe you were here so...I could thank you for your help."

I shrugged passing him to get to my door, taking out my key as I did so. "Oh it was nothing, glad to help."

"I'd call canceling your date to crash my bachelor party a pretty far cry away from _nothing_ Bella." He sighed sounding slightly terse, but I could have been mistaken.

"It wasn't a date," I corrected quickly blinking up at him.

Edward's green eyes raked over me with slow skepticism, and somewhat longingly, "But you wore..._that._"

"What's wrong with my dress," I defended putting a hand on my hip, probably _more_ irritated because Em made the same statement earlier and I didn't get a chance to defend myself the first time. "It's not too short, not too tight, and it isn't anywhere _near_ as low cut as some of the other dresses I've seen. This is why I don't—"

Edward grabbed my wrist gently, stopping me mid sentence, "The dress is _fine_ Bella, you look _amazing_ in it. I wasn't implying anything."

"Oh..." I breathed pulling my hand back hoping to disconnect the current that was running through my body from his touch. The sensation dulled, but didn't quite disappear in his presence, and I blinked up at him a few times trying to come to my senses. "...Well, you're welcome. I'm glad you and your guests had a good time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to—"

"—I felt you watching me knock on your door." he admitted in one heavy rush of breath looking at his shoes. I didn't know what to say, but apparently he didn't need me to say anything." It's weird, but—it's like my body automatically finds you the minute you're in the vicinity. I find myself fighting not to look at you, and shoving my hands in my pockets to keep from touching you."

'That's crazy talk, I think you've had a bit too much to drink" I tried teasingly smile and joke even though I was freaking out. The guy was basically describing how _I_ felt, when I was near _him_.

He lifted his head, and a smile was playing on those gorgeous lips of his. "You know, now that I think about it, it was silly to try and talk to you about whatever this was earlier. I should have just, _looked_ at you and paid attention for myself."

He stepped closer to me and I flattened my back against my room door trying very hard to not be affected by how close he was. "What are you talking about?"

Edward towered over me, keeping his eyes on mine not saying anything in response right away. My heart raced at the building tension and the tightening knot in my stomach made me squirm slightly. His lips crooked into a smile a different type of smile, like I had just proven some point.

"I'm talking about your body Bella...It tells me everything I want to know if I take the time to pay attention." His voice sounded like liquid velvet, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. I needed to tell him goodnight and send him away, but I couldn't find my voice if I wanted to. This couldn't be happening, not now.

"The way you grip an inanimate object to keep yourself from touching me," He prompted, glancing down at the purse I was holding onto for dear life. "The way you bury your nose into anything to win your fight against looking at me."

"Then there's your eyes." He added grabbing the frame of my door to lean closer to me but making an obvious effort to keep us from touching.

"You blink rapidly when you're trying to push a thought out of your head you feel you shouldn't be having. What are you thinking about Bella?"He inquired, sounding completely proud of himself.

"I'm thinking, you're very close." I admitted, but I wasn't giving him more than that.

He just nodded and exhaled, the smoky smell of scotch on his breath making me want to taste him. "And then there's that drop in your voice when you've decided to distance yourself from something. Don't drop your voice Bella...not with me."

It wasn't that simple, he of all people should know that. I _loved_ him, and I couldn't be close to him in _any_ of the ways I wanted to so what was he telling me? That he _wanted_ me? That he knew I _wanted_ him? I needed to be far far away but I was too scared to even touch him and he wasn't budging on his own.

What was his game here? "Edward what are you—"

Edward's index finger silenced me, and I had to fight the oddly natural instinct not to pull it into my mouth. "Just listen for a second _please_."

With the tension building between us, even Edward's sexy smugness dissipated replaced with a mix of barely restrained emotions. I nodded silently for him to say whatever he wanted, afraid that the slightest word from me would end this war with my mind and body and right now it was impossible to predict which one would win.

"I have been _drawn_ to you since we met. I can't get you out of my head, you are in my thoughts non-stop. I'm irritated that my family knows you and I don't, I'm frustrated that I want to know you and can't, and I'm driving myself crazy thinking about what it all means."

I could hear my own breath hitch as his eyes pulled away to look me over again. "All night I've been thinking about getting you out of that dress, touching you without you pulling away. Kissing you, and those lips actually opening up to let me. I'm sick of thinking, Bella. For once, I want to just _leap _and worry about everything else later. I want to get lost in whatever _this _is because I'm worried that if I let it walk away I won't feel it again. God please tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way?"

He was telling me wanted me, but he obviously had no idea I more than _wanted_ him. I needed Edward, but he wasn't mine to have. I needed to stress that, to remind him of our situation but there was a fear of rejection in those green eyes, pleading with me for vocal confirmation that he wasn't alone in how he felt.

"You're not," I breathed in surrender hoping it would be enough.

I should have known it'd be more than that. "Then leap with me Bella," he hurriedly insisted, "because I'm tired of fighting not to kiss you. But I know if I do I won't be able to stop."

I should have known the minute he sought me out I was fooling myself with the idea that I could ever refuse Edward Cullen. He was bearing his soul to me in the middle of a hallway where anyone could stumble upon us but it didn't seem to matter to him. I was in love with him, I knew that just as much as I knew this would all kill me in the morning once the dust settled, but I _wanted_ to leap with him.

"Then don't." I demanded handing him my key card with a trembling hand. I knew we both belonged to someone else, one of us more than the other, but for a few hours that didn't _have_ to matter. I'd throw my rules, morals, inhibitions, and all sense of right and wrong out the window—just for a few hours.

After a small breath of relief that he wouldn't be rejected his mouth crashed against mine and we fell into the room, his hands quickly at my waist to put me against it after he closed it. His kisses were an intoxicating blend of scotch, caramel, and Edward and they made me crave more.

My tongue bravely battled for dominance over his and vise versa until his hands roaming my body forced me to surrender with a small moan. My fingers tangled through his hair relishing the feel and keeping his lips locked with mine until it became a matter of survival that we pull away and catch our breaths.

We stared at each other in my dim lit room taking in ragged breaths with feral eyes both relaying a silent but very loud message. _Get naked_—_now_.

I grabbed the waist of his pants in an attempt to pull us closer and his hands grabbed roughly at my hips and ass. My fingers quickly tugged his shirt from his pants and I blindly undid the buttons exposing the flesh of his neck.

I took the liberty of running my tongue over the junction of his neck and shoulder and he growled in response gripping me tighter, slightly throwing off my ability to finish his shirt. Too determined to not get it opened I ran my hands across the smooth skin of his chest absently wondering why he hadn't attempted to undress me yet.

Then I remembered the clasp of the dress was disguised in the rhinestones of the strap. Much to my surprise, before I could help him he'd given up on my dress all together ripping the strap, turning it into a useless heap of satin on the floor.

That was one way to do it. Impatient Edward was hot. I attacked his lips again and he shrugged out of his shirt, but I had to control groping him until I got his belt and pants off. Then the groping plan ceased all together when I took in the full sight of him.

If the lean, muscular package of pecs and abs weren't enough to make me drool, the very defined 'V; shape that dipped below the waistband of this black boxer briefs did the trick. My eyes widened at the bulge they were _trying_ to contain, realizing he was pretty much ready to go if not completely.

I wasn't the only one taking in the details. As eager as he had been get my dress off, the second it was removed he took his time, letting his eyes roam over every curve and line of my body starting at my feet working his way up. This wasn't my first time in a sexual stare off, but he was the first person to linger on every aspect—not just admiring but _appreciating. E_ventually, his eyes met mine with the same longing approval.

He softly ran his fingers over the skin along my ribs making me shiver in anticipation. The negative Nancy of my subconscious taking one last moment to get a swipe in, _This is definitely going to kill you tomorrow..._

I stiffened slightly trying to shake the thought free, and maybe my blinking gave it away, because in the same second Edward's lips were at my ear, "Leap with me Bella, don't think."

_Don't think... just do..._

His warm breath on my neck wouldn't let me think if I wanted to—and I didn't. I'd already decided to have this night with him, and handle tomorrow—_tomorrow._ "I want you Edward, now." I whined slightly linking my fingers around his neck to bring him close to me, my hips rolling against his for a pleasurable bit of friction.

The roll of our hips escalated into a rougher grind, as he pressed me tighter against the back of the door. My fingers dipped below his waistband, palming the length of him with my hand. He growled into my mouth while his cock twitched against my palm in response begging for more attention. But Edward's strong hand was gently removing mine before I could oblige.

"Bella..." He breathed into the crook of neck, struggling with restraint.

No, he couldn't back out now, not after I'd given into him. "No thinking remember—" I rushed holding him close to me, "tomorrow comes tomorrow."

He pulled away but to my surprise with a smirk on his face. "Oh I'm not thinking Bella, just _planning_."

I raised a curious eyebrow at him, "Planning?"

"If I'm going to do this, its all in. We only have a few hours and there's so much I want to do, my first time inside you isn't going to be against the back of a door." He crooned in a velvet voice that made me hot all over. "..Though I'm more than willing to explore that later, if you're up for it..."

"F-first time?" I managed to stammer out but he didn't respond. He just took my hand and guided me to the bed, nudging me with enough force to get me on my back.

He watched his hand run lightly over my stomach and down the length of my hip skipping past my panties to trace the outside of my thigh switching about halfway down to the inner flesh of my legs, planting an opened mouth kiss above my knee before continuing on to my calf, and lastly my ankle before removing my left shoe.

He did the same on my right side eliciting several moans from me in the process before taking off the other shoe. He was killing me, touching me just enough to awaken my senses but not enough to relieve any tension.

"Edward..." I begged when I felt his tongue swirl around my belly button.

Edward chuckled against my stomach, the vibrations echoing through my body. "Patience is a virtue Bella."

Tonight was about throwing virtue out the window, and it didn't take more than a look from me to remind him. Sliding a hand up my back, he expertly unclasped my bra and discarded it making me immediately moan when he lowered his mouth on my nipple.

My back arched into him with each slow erotic swirl of his tongue before tugging it into his mouth earning another whimper of approval on my end. I cried out in pleasure, and partial shock when his teeth nipped tenderly at my breasts before heightening the sensations with quick flicks of his tongue. My fingers massaged his scalp, urging him to continue.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this, Bella," He groaned in admission against the skin of the valley between my breasts. I didn't respond, the need for more turning my mind into putty.

I tugged on his hair bringing his mouth back to mine, and I wrapped my arms around him, wanting him as close as possible. Unable to wait anymore I shimmied out of my own panties. I thought he had been too caught up in our kiss to notice, until I felt his fingers press into my sex. I moaned into his mouth, and bucked my hips into him earning me a moan in return.

Using his thumb, he slowly rubbed my clit in a circular motion, gradually increasing into a harder more chaotic rhythm. My hips arched into his hand begging for more, and he willingly obliged sinking one long finger into my slick heat finding that magic spot effortlessly making me tremble

"Does that feel good, Bella?" he whispered in my ear, continuing his delicious assault.

I wanted to scream 'yes', tell him that I loved it, that he was amazing, and my body was on fire, but the words were caught in my throat unable to completely surface with his torturous long fingers stroking me just right. I was lost, and close—so close.

"Come for me," He huskily demanded lowering his mouth to my nipples again sending me into sensation overload.

I didn't understand how he could be so attuned to my body but with another curve of his finger inside me, I found my voice. "Edward!"

He slid into me with one quick and hard thrust hitting my g-spot with as much mind blowing accuracy as his fingers. I never got to see the end of my first orgasm, because with every thrust and grind, he built my already sky high pleasure into out of this world bliss. My hips met him each time and we were perfectly in sync. His hands roughly gripped at my thighs and shoulders to go deeper, his kisses were wild, desperate, and primal.

I felt his teeth drag across my shoulder and for a second I thought he was going to bite me, but instead he planted a kiss in the same spot leaving me slightly disappointed, much to my surprise. Before I could process whether I was right or wrong, he was lifting me in his arms and flipping me around, putting me on top.

My hips rocked into him automatically and he sat up holding me with one arm continuing to push upward, not quite ready to give up the control. Determined to fuck and not just_get fucked_,I clenched around his cock, holding his shoulders for support to rise all the way to the tip before sinking back down on him.

He managed to let out some growling word I couldn't understand as he grabbed a fist full of my hair, tugging just hard enough to bring my head back and expose my neck for his lips. Staring up at the ceiling I rode him in his lap. Our bodies coming together and our gasps for breath were the only noises around us, the late hour making us completely alone. He released the tug on my hair to massage his fingers into my scalp holding me closer as I picked up the pace, his free hand sliding between us to stroke me again.

We lost track of everything— time and orgasms included—but it was well into the next morning when we trembled and collapsed into each others arms completely spent. I buried my head in his chest feeling elated, and satisfied in every way as he breathlessly nuzzled the top of my head.

Both of us laid that way in silence for probably another hour, lost in thought and no doubt too worried to ask the other what they were thinking. When I felt my lids getting heavy I decided tomorrow didn't necessarily have to be sunrise, and we could lay here a little while longer. I wasn't ready to give him up just yet.

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**And there we have it, less than ten hours away from the Tanya/ Edward wedding they finally give in to each other? Do you think it will change anything? I guess only time will tell. Remember, Reviews are the greatest gift you can give a writer :) Until next time.**

**DINISHAROB**


	8. Chapter 8- The Morning After

**Happy Sunday All. I know I already posted for the week, but I finished this today and figured what the hell. Why not post it. FYI this chapter starts off in Edward POV and ends in Bellas. It'll be the only one like it... I think. There are alot of mixed views on their night together and they'll probably be more mixed views at the bottom. But here goes.**

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Chapter 8- The morning after

You wouldn't expect me to be wide awake with less than three hours of sleep, but that's what happens when you let your body take over, throw logic to the wind and let go. The next day comes, your mind finally catches up with you and forces your body to stay conscious while it recalls the details of every minute you let your body go rogue.

That's what I'd been doing for the past hour.

I woke up a quarter to nine with the sun streaming in my eyes from the window. Bella's head was still resting on my chest, her delicate hand by her face, and I could tell she was still fast asleep—in no way pretending—from the steadiness of her breaths.

Last night had felt like a dream What started off as rough and crazed shifted to gentle and tender, and then back to wild and feral all over again. Last night started with a dominant volcanic build up, leading to a warm orgasmic rush, that left us both with toe curling immobility. The only explanation my mind could deduce was that it _had_ to have been a dream.

I pinched myself the minute my eyes opened to dark brown curls splashed across my chest and was flooded with relief when I winced at the pain. And well—panic— because I was scheduled to be married today and I had probably an hour or two tops to sort everything out in my head. Reality was _here _knocking on the door, and it was coming in whether I was ready or not but nevertheless I kept my arms around her, not ready to let go.

What next? What did I want? What did _she_ want? What were we expecting from each other? Was I just supposed to pretend this never happened? That was crazy because I'd never be able to do that. Would _she_ want to pretend that it never happened, and go back to coordinating my wedding with the same professional detachment? No she couldn't do that either, I didn't know her very well, but I knew sleeping with a groom wasn't something she normally did. With all the questions and possible answers swirling through my mind, I needed to break all of this down piece by piece before my brain exploded.

For one second I needed to forget that we were both involved, how would I have handled this situation in that case? That was easy, I'd probably stay in bed until she woke up, asked her what plans she had for the day, and if there weren't' any take her out to breakfast, where we'd sit and talk this out together.

Could we do that now? My eyes glanced at the clock, the hour creeping closer to ten. No, we couldn't do that, no time. And even if we could someone would see us together and we'd be a scandal. I'd be seen as a cheating bastard, and Bella would look like a home wrecker and she didn't deserve that.

Okay, maybe thinking about what I'd do if I were single wasn't the best route. Both of us being involved was a problem, a big one. In leaping with Bella and convincing her to leap with me, I'd inadvertently dug both of us into an awkward hole if we chose to see where this went.

I couldn't think of a single way to handle this where we wouldn't look like _horrible_ people. And Tanya—she would hate me forever. Did I really want to hurt her that way? Did I really want to hurt Bella that way? I didn't want to hurt anybody, but it was too late for that. I'd hurt one of them within the next few hours and my mind and heart were making it impossible to choose.

I looked down at Bella sleeping in my arms again wishing I could get a glimpse into her mind to make things easier for me. How she felt about her boyfriend back home, if they saw a future together, if she wanted that future. She factored into this as much as I did, and I debated on waking her up to consult with, but decided to let her remain blissfully ignorant to the mental torment of the morning after.

Wedding bells echoed in my mind making me groan and cover my face with my hand. I didn't even realize it was Bella's phone until she rolled over and grabbed it off the nightstand next to her.

"Isabella," She croaked sleepily turning her back to me to answer. She listened for about five seconds before shooting out of bed scaring me."What do you _mean_ the groom is missing?" She demanded pacing back and forth beside the bed naked.

Was she seriously that out of it in the morning? She was worse than me. I sat up not sure who was on the phone and if they'd hear me in the back ground.

"Alice, him missing breakfast hardly classifies him as _missing_, did you call his phone, check his room?" She sighed slowing her pace into a less panicked more logical movement.

My amusement faltered when I winced at the mention of my sister's name, it's a good thing I didn't say anything.

Bella was too preoccupied with her conversation to even look my way. "Well maybe he's gone for a run to shake off the pre-wedding jitters or something. It's an island Allie, there's only so many places he could be. Where are you? I'll meet you or we can meet at my—"

I snapped my fingers to get her attention and her head whirled around finally noticing me. Her jaw dropped and her entire body practically flushed rose. It was so adorable I couldn't keep my smile at bay if I wanted too.

"Alice, I gotta call you back." She practically whimpered before she hung up.

I chuckled watching her press the button at least five times before tossing it at the end of the bed like it burned her. "Hi.."

"Hi," She breathed still staring at slack-jawed.

She subtly tried to pinch herself awake and I chuckled a little harder because she and I thought the exact same thing when we first saw each other. "You're not asleep Bella."

Her blush grew deeper and she hastily grabbed the sheet from the corner of the bed to cover herself in. "Hi..." She breathed again so adorably doe-eyed that I wanted nothing more than for her to be in my arms again.

"Hello," I repeated opening my arms to her, but she didn't make any mover to join me. I dropped my arms realizing maybe her hesitance was her answer.

She knotted off her bed sheet toga and dropped her arms rushing over to her bag, "It's not you, I'm just afraid to attack you with morning breath." She admitted popping a mint her mouth.

"Bella come here," I instead giving up on restraint and out right laughing.

She offered me the tin and I nodded catching her perfect toss before popping a mint of my own. "So you find me funny now, huh?" She accused crawling back up the bed and into my arms.

"No, not funny—just, refreshingly cute." I corrected pulling as close to me as she could my sitting position without pulling her into my lap and that would be a bad idea. I was naked under this blanket and the sheet she was wrapped in was practically sheer, and we'd probably achieve nothing that way.

I shifted at the thought and she caught me raising an eyebrow, "Are we looking for a repeat of last night?"

"So you remember?" I accused with humor, "You looked like you saw a ghost a few minutes ago, you wound my ego Bella, the least you can do is remember our little—"

"—Mind blowing, eyes tearing, toes curling, mind blowing experience?" She finished before pressing her forehead into my shoulder to hide her smile from me, "Oh I remember perfectly and there was nothing _little_ between us."

"Better," I nodded trying to hide my elation at her recollection of the memory. "And as much as I'd like to revisit the idea of last night, tomorrow's here, so we've got to deal with it."

Her entire body went rigid in my arms. "Oh, yeah..."

I was just as uncomfortable as she was, but we couldn't put it off. "We need to talk about what's next, what we expect from each other—"

She cut me off, leaving my arms to sit on her feet and face me. "No, it's okay we don't have to talk about _any_ of this. I have a boyfriend, you and Tanya are getting _married_ today, so I suppose the best thing to do here is sneak you out of my room and pretend this never happened." She didn't look at me as she rambled on, staring at the pillow she was holding.

Reading her body it was _obvious_ she didn't mean a word she said, so why was she saying it. "Bella... I don't think—"

"You're right, we didn't think, and that's okay—_I'm_ okay— it happens. Luckily we still have time to correct it before it's too late." She was tense, and her voice trembled lightly as she planned and sorted still not looking up. "I'm going to need to get dressed so that I can tend to some last minute details but the wedding isn't until five, so we shouldn't be behi—"

My heart sank when it clicked into my mind that she never expected me to _want_ anything other than what she was saying. Last night when she lay silently in my arms, before when she decided to take the leap in the first place, she'd been prepping herself for me to drop her the second we finished.

Did she really think that low of me, or that little of herself?

"Bella, look at me." I demanded finally getting a word in. Her deep chocolate irises could only meet mine for a second before she had to look away, back at the pillow. I wasn't going to let her do this to me, or herself. "No Bella, you're _not _okay. Look me in the eye and tell me that you believe _anything_ that you're saying. That that's what you want out off all of this"

She glanced back up at me with the bravest expression I'd ever seen her use. It was a complete lie, but for some reason she was set on fooling me. "I'm _fine_ Edward, go—get married."

And as I listened to her insist, stared at the hollow pupils in her steel gaze, I knew; I didn't want to hurt this girl—ever. It was all so easy after that, "Bella, I'm not getting married today."

Her mouth dropped again, "Wh—_what_?"

"I'm not getting married today," I repeated reaching out to pull her back into my arms. She flinched away from the touch, and it stung a bit, but I could understand if she needed space to process.

She shook her head adamantly, "B—but you have to."

"No, not really." I denied trying to laugh out the tension.

Bella slapped her hand to her forehead wrenching her eyes shut, "Shit this is all my fault. I just ruined—"

"Bella, it's not your fault." She gave me that skeptical eyebrow of hers and I adjusted. "Okay, it's both of ours, but it's more than just us sleeping together. Like I said last night, I've been drawn to you since I met you, so much that it lead to—well, us sleeping together." She frowned and I took her hand to keep her from interrupting, "Look, I don't pretend to know all the answers here, I don't know if you want to explore the possibility of something, and I don't know I if I'm even capable of fixing all of this to the point we could start something. Shit, the more that I think about it, it seems I don't have _any_ answers. I just know that it's not fair to anyone if I get married feeling this way about someone else."

"Feeling what way?" She pressed for clarification in a whisper filled with so many emotions I couldn't single them out.

I didn't know how to describe the way I felt about Bella, I could try, but it probably wouldn't instill much confidence in me. So I chose the truth. "I can't explain it Bella, I just know I want to know you, be around you, and for you to want that too. Can you honestly say you feel that whatever this is ends here?"

She seemed to have the same tearing battle in her mind before giving up with the shake of her head. "No, if anything I want to be closer to you."

I gave her hand a squeeze and smiled at her in encouragement. She seemed so afraid to admit how she felt, "I feel the same way. So, let's take our time, and figure out whatever this is."

I watched her think about it a bit longer, searching my eyes for a sense of security. "Okay, so...you're not getting married...what next?"

That one wasn't so hard—in theory, "Well, we need to get out of bed. I need to talk to Tanya, tell her the truth, and take it how it comes."

She shifted nervously, "Do you...um...want me to come with you?"

"No," I answered completely confident. "All of this is crazy, and when I tell her I can't marry her, she's going to be looking for someone to blame, and I don't want any of this falling on you. None of this is your fault, and I want to protect you as much as I can."

She nodded thoughtfully, but didn't respond right away. "What about your family? Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Alice—Oh Allie she's going to kill me. Everyone's going to think I'm a whore that ruined your wedding."

"No one is going to call you a whore Bella. My family loves you, if anything Emmett will probably kick my ass for taking advantage of you." I chuckled roughly trying to ease her nerves even though she had a slight point. My family wouldn't really be upset with me finding an interest in Bella, but they'd definitely tense at the _way_ we decided to handle it. Hindsight is always 20/20, I should have ended the wedding the minute I knew I felt something for her.

Bella rolled her eyes, "Well that ridiculous, you didn't take advantage of me. You gave me a choice and I chose. Maybe we shouldn't tell them, at least about—"she gestured at us being naked in bed together. "this particular part."

"If that's what you want, Bella." I appeased quickly.

She stared at me uneasy, "So, you're _really_ not getting married...this is really happening."

"Did you really expect me to just drop you Bella?" I asked somewhat bothered that she was waiting for the rug to be yanked from beneath her.

"No—" She denied quickly realizing she hurt me, but stopped herself with a guilty look. "Honestly Edward, I didn't expect you to even be here when I woke up."

I was floored, "You think I'm that much of a dick?"

"No, it's not that, I think you're great." She denied vehemently, "Probably too great. I don't know—I just—I spent every moment since I met you convincing myself of all the reasons I needed to stay away from you because logically I could never have you.

Then you tell me you want me, and I give in because I want you. But I already prepared myself to not expect anything more than last night. I'd _understand_ if you chose to still get married.—I mean, it'd hurt a little, but I'd understand. Then I wake up and not only did you stay but you're telling me you don't want to get married anymore.

And I know you're nowhere near saying 'let's run off together' but you think there's enough between us to at least try to figure it out. I hope I'm making sense. My mind is all over the place but I need to get it out because I'm afraid if I don't you'll see this as a mistake once it's too late to fix it."

"You feel like this is a mistake." I exhaled running a hand through my hair.

She smacked her head to her forehead again. "I'm saying it all wrong. No, I don't _you're_ a mistake. I just want you to be a hundred percent sure before you potentially throw away your entire life on a maybe. We get to know each other and it could lead nowhere, we wouldn't be the first two people brought together for just one hot night."

"You have a very complicated mind Bella." I discovered, pulling her hand away from her face. When she was nervous she said the simplest things in long round about away. Of course she'd be nervous about the risks of my decision, but I didn't expect her to be worried about _my _risks. That if nothing came of this, she'd feel guilty.

She gave me that small wincing smile, "I get that a lot."

"Look, it's normal to be worried about the risks, but isn't it the risks that make the leap worth it? Do you really think the thought that you might choose to work things out with your boyfriend back home didn't cross my mind?" Because it had, every time I weighed the pros and cons of all of this.

She rolled her eyes at me, "Jacob and I are practically over, we probably have been for a long time. So you don't have to worry about being the reason I miss out on anything."

"Look, nothing is ever set in stone Bella. You may think you and Jacob are over, and he may surprise you. Or you may find a different guy completely, who knows? We're exploring the _idea _of a possibility." I gave her the simplest answer I could, "I'm choosing to take a leap here, and that means accepting the possibility of being hit with the risks or the reward. So I'm leaping here, are you leaping with me?"

My heart was racing out of my chest waiting for her answer. She nodded but covered her face with her hands, "Oh my god, Alice and Emmett—"

"Will _probably_ give you a medal," I teased pulling her back into my arms the moment she said yes. I kissed the rose flesh on her shoulder blade and she squealed before turning her face to mine for a kiss. I was starting to love kissing her, she tasted like _Bella._ Her lips weren't overly slick with glosses or lipsticks, they were soft, and warm, and they could be as tender or as wild as we wanted them to without fear of messing up her face. It was real, I liked that.

I pulled her into my lap and she straddled me without thinking, grinding her hips against me, the two thin pieces of fabric between our naked bodies doing absolutely nothing to stop us. She pulled away with a giggle the second I started tugging at the knot on her sheet. "Edward, you may not be getting married, but there's still a lot that needs to be taken care of."

"Fine," I groaned in surrender backing away from her lips, but not releasing her from my lap. "We should probably get out of this room before Alice sends out the hunting dogs."

Bella nodded, separating herself from me." And that won't end well. You need out of here, and you need to be somewhat presentable walking these halls. I suggest we shower separately—you go first.."

I nodded and slid from underneath the blanket hiding my amusement that she adverted her eyes from watching me go into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. There I was, preparing myself to take a pretty large leap with no idea how it was going to turn out. Where would I _live_? What would my family _really_ think? And everyone else? What was I going to tell three-hundred and fifty people that flew in from all over the world to see Tanya and I get married?

I jumped under the jet of the shower not even giving it time to heat up hoping if this really were a dream the cold water would shock me out of it. But as I stood under the gradually warming stream I relaxed, my thoughts running back to last night.

Last night, I told myself I wouldn't think about Bella and her life outside this suite once she let me in, and for the most part I hadn't. But as determined as I was I couldn't help but notice her not so subtle reactions to me. She was practically crawling the wall during foreplay, like me wanting to take my time with her was completely new. I knew she wasn't a virgin—I knew that much based on how she challenged me back with every move I made—but some things definitely took her by surprise.

The back of my mind wondered if her guy back home ever took the time to completely _indulge_ in the art that was Bella Swan. Building her up instead of just jumping right into it. Most likely not, because with each kiss to her flesh she gasped and arched like no one had _ever_ made her feel that way.

I remembered liking the thought of that, that no matter what happened today no one would be able to take that away. But then there were also several times that I found myself frustrated and constantly reminded that technically I was only borrowing her before she boarded a plane back to California and her boyfriend waiting for her.

I lost count of the all the times my mouth ran across her skin fighting the urge to mark her. Nothing painful, but a territorial love bite serving as a reminder that she was _mine _or at least had _been_ mine at some point. Which was crazy, because she wasn't _mine_ and I couldn't do that to her. If she'd chosen to go home and never speak of what happened, I wouldn't cause trouble for her later.

Maybe that had been my answer all along? That raw, deep down animal instinct to make her mine.

I turned off the water and grabbed a towel no longer freaking out about Bella particularity, more about the fine print of _after_. I opened the door to find Bella moving around the room in a whirlwind of organization.

She was wearing a pair of shorts, and a tank top, her hair brushed enough to be tamed into a pony tail. The bed had been made, my pants, boxers, and shirt laid carefully across, not pressed to perfection but surprisingly wrinkle free considering they'd been tossed on the floor all night.

"Did you _iron_ my clothes?" I asked getting her attention as I slid on my boxers before removing my towel.

Obviously she'd been out here freaking out just as bad as I was, "No, I have wrinkle release in my bag, I keep a lot of things like that to be on the safe side."

That reminded me, we'd been so caught up with each other that the issue of _safety_ had never even came up. "Bella, speaking of _safety—_"

"I'm clean if that's what you're asking," She sputtered tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, red faced and offended.

We really needed to work on not putting my foot in my mouth with her, "No—I trust you I'm not saying that. I'm more focusing on the whole _potential pregnancy_ factor of it all."

"Oh." She breathed grabbing her torn dress, throwing it in her suitcase. "Well that's covered too. I'm on birth control."

That was comforting, "Okay."

"I mean it was really as a back up, I'd never done it without—" She blushed bright red realizing she'd been doing the nervous ramble thing again."I'm shutting up now."

She'd never had unprotected sex before. "Bella, we should talk about—"

"No more talking, it's almost noon." She refused looking anxiously back at the clock. "I need to shower and get dressed and you need to go...talk to Tanya. "

I tried to protest. I knew the longer I put off Tanya the worse it'd be but I didn't really want to leave her alone either. "But—"

"No but's Cullen," She insisted leading me towards the door. "You have to talk to Tanya, and I have to handle things with...Jacob."

That's why she was freaking out, she'd be breaking things off with her boyfriend. "Bella you don't have to call him right away, you don't even—"

She shut me up with a searing kiss, deepening just enough for me to relax, but she pulled away all too soon. "No, I do have to. You're jumping all in to even explore the possibility of an us, so the least I can do is leap with both feet too. Look, go do what you have to do, and I'll be here waiting. I don't have to be home until Thursday so that gives us a few days to sort this out and try to get to know each other. We leap together right?"

"Together," I promised pressing my lips against her, very much liking that word when it pertained to us. "When this is over, we're checking out, so pack your suitcase."

The idea surprised her, did she really expect us to hang out here? "Where are we going?"

"Does it matter?" I challenged with a smile, honestly I had no idea but it was definitely off this island.

She blushed and shook her head, "No, it doesn't I guess." She opened the door and stepped out to glance down the hall in both directions. Satisfied she stepped back in, "You're clear see you in a few hours."

With one more kiss I rushed down the hall and called for the elevator. Turning my phone back on I looked at the time. With it being a little after twelve Tanya would be holed up in the the bridal suite getting her hair done. I pushed the ground floor button, deciding to skip my room and go straight there.

First I called Alice to tell her I overslept and to stop whatever freak out she was having, That didn't take long, but she asked me if something was wrong a few times, probably hearing something in my voice. I needed to talk to Tanya before I talked to my family. I owed her that much to not be the last to know.

I wasn't surprised when Kate swung open the door wearing a pale purple robe with a hair full of rollers. "Edward, what brings you by?"

I stepped inside not waiting for an invitation. "I came to see Tanya."

The room was filled with bustling bridesmaids waiting for their turns to get their nails done. "You know that's bad luck right, Edward?" Irina teased looking up from a lady filing her nails.

" Edward? Eddie's here?" Tanya's voice rushed from the next room pushing the French doors open coming out to greet me with a half curled head ignoring her stylists protest. "You're risking years of bad luck to see me you know that right?"

She linked her arms around my neck and kissed me hello. "I came to talk." I whispered in her ear knowing when I pulled away from her.

Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion, but before anyone could notice she was all smiles again. "Everyone out."

"But my polish is still wet," Billie, one of the bridesmaids protested pulling away from the manicurist.

Tanya shrugged nonchalantly, "Then don't bump anything, but everyone out."

Kate tightened her robe and slid her feet into her slippers. "Sister, we're on a schedule. Are you really kicking us all out for you and Edward to grab a last minute _shag_ before your vows?"

"Out, out, out." Tanya demanded crossing her arms under her breasts. She was giving her sister the death glare, so I knew no one else would argue. The only think Tanya hated more than not getting her way was someone questioning her.

Once the last girl left she shut the door, taking my hand, pulling me into her private area. "Now sit Edikins, you look troubled, would you like a cup of tea?"

"I'm fine." I shook my head at the offer and sat down on the bed watching her make a cup for herself before coming to sit across from me on the vanity chair. "Look, there are some things I have to tell you, and you're not going to—" I paused noticing an unusual brightness in her eyes, and a small smile she couldn't quite keep at bay as she swirled the liquid in her cup. She inhaled the aroma and her eyes fluttered closed, and for a moment she was lost in some memory. "Tanya are you alright."

Her eyes snapped open and she blushed in embarrassment, _actually blushed_. I'd never seen her blush before, hell I also never saw her daydream. "Yes, my apologies. I just—got caught up in a moment there. I swear Isabella Swan is an amazing lady Edward."

Bella. Yes I knew that but why exactly did Tanya feel that way? "Why is Isabella amazing, exactly?" I asked getting off topic for a minute.

She took a sip of her tea, a small moan escaping from her lips before she sat down the cup. "Because she gave me the best wedding present so far."

My eyes followed hers to the clear tea set sitting on the table. There was nothing particularity special about it, hell it wasn't even crystal, just normal glass. Tanya explained getting up to cross the room, picking up a small piece for paper before handing it to me. "There was this tea I use to drink as a child, but I never remembered the name. She figured it out and bought it for me."

Tanya,

May the best comfort of you past, help calm your nerves of the future.

Wishing you lots of joy and happiness on this special day.

Isabella Swan

"Wow," I didn't know what to say or think.

"Yes, I really owe Alice an apology, and Isabella for that matter. Bringing her in was the best thing for our wedding." She admitted carefully taking the note from me, and I thought I was losing my mind. Tanya rarely admitted she was wrong.

It was now or never. "About the wedding..." I started with a sigh getting back to the reason I came. "I can't marry you."

The sound of the cup and saucer dropping to the floor made my head snap up, she was staring at me wide eyed at a complete loss for words. A slew of emotions flashed across her face, but she took a deep breath trying to keep them all at bay. "I'm going to pretend you're having a temporary moment of insanity, and ignore that last sentence."

I let out a sigh raking my hand through my hair. "Tanya I'm not—"

"Yes Eddie, you are insane if you think a four word sentence is a way to end a five year relationship four _hours _before we say 'I do.' You are going to start with an explanation, now." She demanded pacing in front of me expectantly.

This was going to be the difficult part, but I knew I owed her that much.

—

I raked my hand through my hair again closing the door to Tanya's suit behind me. That didn't go like I thought would at all. After two hours of talking. I put myself into this giant mess, and there was no way to fix it. I needed to call Bella, I needed to talk to her, go to her room, talk to her about what just happened. She was the only person I needed to see.

"Dude, there you are," My brother's voice called down the hall. He was already wearing his suit for the wedding. "The girls said something about you sneaking into Tanya's room for a quickie. We've gotta go. You have an hour to get dressed, and Alice is freaking out."

"I need to talk to Bella," I rushed when he clapped a hand on my shoulder to get my attention.

Emmett just sighed, "Dude, there's no time for wedding changes now. Alice is worried, and if I don't get you in your suite within the next ten minutes she's going to tell Mom and Dad and _they're_ going to worry. Are you coming or not?"

I wanted to say no, that I was going to find Bella, but the mention of Mom and Dad made me wince and I was forced to put everything into a responsible perspective. "Yeah, I'm coming."

—**Bella's POV—**

I wiped the tears from my eyes after hanging up with Jacob. To say that it didn't go well didn't quite cover it. Getting showered and dressed for the day served as a decent enough reason to stall at first, but as the hour clicked to one o'clock I knew I couldn't' put it off anymore.

He was so glad to hear from me when I called it made things that much worse, but I reminded myself that Edward was downstairs doing the same thing and steeled myself to do the right thing. I told him the entire truth from the start of the welcome party to where it ended with my night with him leaving out the details of who exactly Edward was.

I think Jacob called me every adjective of a whore that he could think of and I took it, because I knew I hurt and betrayed him. Then he went on assuming that _every time_ I left for work I'd hooked up with someone and I gave up trying to convince him otherwise. He told me not to bother stopping by to get the things I left at his place because he'd toss them all out long before I even got home. Thankfully, I never left anything there of grave importance. Then it ended with him telling me to drop dead and hanging up and hour later.

I wiped my eyes again, refusing to let myself full on cry. What Jacob said had hurt, but I knew I also hurt him. The only option I had was to tell the truth and move on—which apparently meant packing. My mind ran over the night before as I folded and sorted my things.

First, convincing myself that the night before had been a dream to the point I actually went into a panic when Alice had called me, then embarrassing myself finding him in my bed. The shock I felt when I realized that he didn't sneak out while I was sleeping, and that he actually wanted to get to know me—to see if this would lead anywhere.

Overall, I zipped up my suitcase feeling pretty good about Edward and I. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about how the Cullen's would take it, but I decided to cross the bridge _after_ Edward and I figured things out for ourselves.

I stole another glance at the clock on the nightstand, it was already after three. I didn't let myself worry, because what Edward was doing was a lot harder than my hour and change with Jacob. They had a five year history and were going to get married. That talk couldn't be rushed.

My cellphone rang again, and I blindly picked it up without hesitation. "Jacob I know you hate me right now, but I don't think I can take anymore debasement. So what do you want?"

"Debasement?" Sam's voice echoed in question. "Why is your boyfriend debasing you?"

"Because he isn't my boyfriend anymore." I sighed feeling like an idiot for not checking my caller ID first. At least it was him and not Zafrina or a client. "What's up Sam?"

"Just calling to see if Aro came through or not," He answered stepping out of a noisy background to someplace quieter.

"Yeah, thanks for your help Sam, I owe you big when I get back home. How come I've never heard about Aro's agency?"

Sam's deep voice chuckled in my ear, "Because you're still a junior level coördinator rookie. Wait until you get some years under your belt."

I rolled my eyes, because he'd only been employed with Happily Ever After a year longer than me. Not that that wasn't a great feat in itself. "How's the Versace prep going?"

"Horrible, I think I'm pissing Zafrina off." He admitted sounding a bit stressed.

I could picture him scratching the back of his head like he always did when he was stuck, "Uh oh, what are the indicators? What is she saying?"

"That's the problem, she isn't saying anything. She walked through the space so far and all she did was purse her lips and touch them with her index finger." He hissed into the phone.

That wasn't good, "Shit." I hissed in return powering up my laptop. "Send me the layout pictures so far, I'm signing in now."

I could hear him typing in my ear, not bothering to hang up to send them. "Coming through now."

Opening the pictures the second they popped up I winced for him. "This won't do..." I droned clicking furiously through the slide show. "Who are you partnering with?"

"Tara did the design layouts, why?"

"Because they're too similar to the 2001 Versace theme. The only thing different is the color scheme, you need to change it before Zafrina comes for another walk through. Zafrina doesn't do repeats and someone is gonna pay for it." I explained shaking my head. There was a reason I researched past events when I got an idea.

Obviously Tara did a little too much research, and Sam didn't do enough, "Shit, the party is in a week? What can I do in a week?"

"Keep it simple, contrasting colors and a combination of abstract art matching the colors. They want it loud, and big, and they don't care what type of statement they're making so don't obsess over it. I suggested searching for examples to send him.

I could hear him taking notes, "Got it. You're the best Isabella. You know, I could use my partner in Miami with me if you're done there."

"Tara's your partner for this event, and I'm not done. I have some things going on here..." I declined shifting in my chair.

Sam sighed in disbelief, "Do you know what a Versace party in your portfolio could do for your career? Is whatever you got going on more important than that?"

"It kind is..." I admitted surprising myself. I don't know why, but I knew that if I didn't see where Edward and I would go, I'd regret it. "There's always next year, though."

"Yeah, yeah." Sam sighed giving up. He had too much on his plate to worry about my personal life. "Can I send you the new layout designs when I'm finished?"

"Sure, just text me when you send them, and I'll see you in Sacramento." I promised hanging up just someone knocked on my door.

It was Edward, it had to be. I slammed my laptop shut and threw it in my shoulder bag, putting it on before going to open the door. He'd probably want to get out as soon as possible, so I made sure I had everything to keep from lingering.

"Hey I was just about to—Rose?" I gasped sitting my bag on the floor.

She looked relieved to see me, "There you are, Sarah has been trying to reach you, but the wedding phone is off. Are you okay?"

"I'm f—fine_," _I stammered looking over her shoulder down the hallway. "What's going on?"

"Are you _not_ coming to the wedding at all? I told them you probably slept in with all of the catastrophes you've stopped so far, but Esme and Carlisle wanted me to check on you."

Wedding? She didn't know that Edward called it off? Ice water shot through my veins when I realized, "Tanya and Edward are getting married..."He didn't cancel, he didn't call it off, and he wasn't even going to be the one to tell me.

"Of course why do you think we're all in Nantucket? Bella are you feeling okay? You don't look so well." She observed putting a hand to my face.

I tried to take deep breaths, but I felt like I'd just gotten the wind knocked out of me, "It's a little hot, and hard to breathe. I'm okay, just tired." I prepared myself for him to leave but he insisted he wanted me. Why would he do that? Convince me he wanted me, convince me to trust him, if he was just going to get married anyway.

"Those are the symptoms for being tired," She countered stepping in and eyeing the luggage at the door. "Bella are you _leaving?_"

Was I? Yes, I had to, I couldn't stay here and watch him marry her after the talk we had this morning. And if my heart couldn't be stabbed anymore, the chimes in the garden rang through my window. The wedding would start soon and they were seating guests as we spoke.

I turned away from her and grabbed my bag, "Yes, there was an emergency at work. I have to leave right away. Will you tell everyone goodbye for me?"

"Yeah, I will," She promised no doubt still eyeing me, but I didn't look up. "Bella are you _crying_?"

The mention of crying made the tears run harder so I couldn't really lie about them. So I nodded, "I just really feel like shit for letting Alice down. I promised her I could do this but—_I can't_."

Rosalie wrapped her arms around me for comfort, "Bella, you didn't let Alice down. I mean, she'll be upset that she didn't get to say goodbye on her own, but you did amazing here. You're a good friend." She wiped my cheeks and I nodded trying to pull myself together.

I handed her the wedding phone, "I'm sorry, I've got to run, but give everyone my apologies please."

Grabbing my bags, I didn't wait a second longer to head out. I couldn't stay here and watch all of this, and I didn't want to go home for the drama that was no doubt waiting there. So I pulled out my phone and chose the route of distraction.

I'd didn't even bother to call the airlines, I'd by my ticket to Miami there. I just needed off this island, far away from the wedding, and Edward Cullen with it.

* * *

**OKay... breathe. Hopefully I wont lose you all with this, because I always turn events a certain way for a reason and believe me this story is JUST starting. **

**But comment away, I'm looking forward to it.**


	9. Chapter 9- Thank you Edward Cullen

**Hello All! Sorry for the late post, but remember I'm still laptopless until Dell decides they've fixed mine and want to give it back. There were alot of heated responses to the last chapter and I can understand why but there will probably be a few more bothered readers since this chapter doesn't pick up exactly where we left off, but actually many years later. Remeber there will be times when you hate my characters and story turns and times when you love it, but I'm not doing my job if you're not yelling at the screen at-least once. **

**I decided since I had such passionate readers I'd reward a few with by making them original characters in the story. It hasn't changed the story line any, only saved me from making up names and descriptions. So thank you Karina, Carson, Madison, and Zoey (the last two in which had had no choice at all in the matter) for allowing your likenesses to be at the mercy of my twisted mind. **

***Double Disclaimer***

**1*i don't own twilight, or the characters, I just like letting them roam free in my head. **

**2*I don't own Karina, Carson, Madison, and Zoey either. (rolls eyes) Just the TWI versions that I'll just occasionally make do things to help the story progress, so please remember that Twi characters actions and thoughts don't reflect the actual person. (I think that made sense :/ )**

**Anyway see me at the bottom...**

* * *

Chapter 9- Thank you Edward Cullen...and James Marsden

**...Five years later...**

The human mind was truly a fascinating thing. Once a person went through an ordeal their minds always gave them a choice on how to proceed. There was option one, where they could hold on to that memory, think about it constantly; how things should have gone, how you wanted them to go, etc. Or you could choose to _not_ think about it, shove the memory deep into the recesses of your mind and hope it'd never resurface again; option two.

Sometimes it doesn't, sometimes you can go long periods of time without the calamity ever crossing your mind. Then again, sometimes all it takes is the sound of an anxious voice to send it all flooding back. The mind was funny that way.

I snapped myself out of Nantucket and back to reality replaying the voice mail I'd missed last night.

_Bella...you know who this is...call me back as soon as you get this. I need your help._

Hearing her voice in particular didn't really affect me anymore, we made an effort to talk every few weeks at least. No, it was the _tone _that took me down memory lane. That message was practically identical to the one that got me on a plane to Boston all those years ago—running to her rescue.

It was seven-thirty here, so I knew she'd already be busy at work for the day. "Not really in a rush to call that one back," I muttered putting my phone on the counter before turning back to the skillet hissing at me impatiently.

He had his life, and I had mine, and other than the occasional memory of that weekend, neither of our lives had intercepted since. I went back to cooking feeling quite proud—I had trained myself years ago not to get overly emotional at the thought of Edward Cullen, and I wasn't going to start letting it get to me now.

Today was supposed to be a happy day. For starters it was Friday, I had slept in my _own_ bed last night for the first time in two weeks because of work, I woke up this morning to two _very good voice mails_, and I was having a home cooked breakfast to celebrate.

I repeated the message that caused my initial excitement.

_Isabella, hey it's James. So, I just got off the phone with my numbers guy, he looked at your proposal and liked what he saw. We'll have to go over the finer details of course... but I want in. If you want to take Twilight Affairs bi-coastal you got it._

I shrieked again saving it to play for everyone else later—we did it. We _actually_ did it. When I quit Happily Ever After four years ago, and went into business for myself I had never dreamed we'd be successful enough to even keep our L.A. office afloat, let alone discussing the idea of opening another firm on the east coast.

The years had been a whirlwind—not just for me—but the nine other team members that helped make each event a success. We all worked endless hours our first year, and there were several times I thought at least a few of them would crack from stress and lack of sleep. There were also times when I thought I didn't have what it took to run a firm. But, with a lot of hard work—and a very confident financial backer—we managed to etch our name into our own private piece of Hollywood.

I thought about my first conversation with him and laughed in embarrassment. If I had known that conversation would change my life forever, I probably would have been less of a mess.

—

**Summer 2008, Miami, Versace Party**

"Okay, I've checked with the caterers, bartenders, light and sound technicians, and the models backstage. What else do you need help with?" I listed off in a single breath.

Sam's eyebrows shot up looking over the list. "You've _literally _done the entire list Isabella, relax, take a seat, and watch the fashion show."

Sam didn't get it, I couldn't relax. I needed to bury myself in as much work as possible I needed to have something other than last weekend to focus on, I needed to keep _moving_—preferably fast—because I knew that if I stopped to slow down for even a second, thoughts of _him_ would catch up with me.

But rather than save myself the judgmental looks that would come with sharing my story and issues with Sam, I decided to find something else to keep me busy, "I'm going to mingle through and see what type of vibe the guests are giving off."

"Fine…"he shrugged in surrender but grabbed my arm before I could wander off. "Thanks for your help Bella. You saved my ass on this one."

"Thanks for giving me something to keep me busy," I countered truly grateful, because going back home would have driven me crazy. I had to leave for Sacramento in a few hours to meet the florist deadline, and was already dreading the peace and quiet that would come with the plane ride. But then I perked myself up again at the thought of how crazy things would be once I landed.

Sam gave me an oddly understanding look, "Hey, I know you're trying to keep busy to stop thinking about your boyfriend and stuff, but if you want to talk about it—"

"—Sam do you _really _want to talk about chick stuff? Because I don't." He must have really been worried, because even though we knew general details about each other's private lives, our working relationship was never close enough for us to talk about them.

Sam just surrendered, "Okay. Well I'm here if you need me."

I focused back on distractions, "I'm going to leave my phone on in case you need me. My flight leaves at two am, so I'll be out of here by midnight."

"See you before you leave?" He asked checking his watch, knowing this party wouldn't be over until at least six in the morning.

"If not, I'll see you in Sacramento in a day or so." I shrugged noncommittally, the later it got the more crowded this mansion would get and I might not have the time to hunt him down to say goodbye. He knew that too, so he could only nod in acceptance and let me walk away.

I mingled and smiled despite the fact I really didn't want to. I met a few models, aspiring models, designers, aspiring designers, press, and photographers; some were important names and I just wasn't familiar enough, while others were completely unknown all together. The celebrities were known for arriving late. Regardless, I greeted each guest I met with a flashing smile Zafrina's words repeating in my mind like a mantra.

"Each person you meet is a potential client, and you represent Happily Ever After at all times."

A little after eleven I had grown tired of forcing a smile, and escaped to the fountain hoping to relax my face muscles in solitude. I sought refuge in the courtyard grabbing a seat by the fountain to re-check my flight plan. I was really cutting it close flying out at the last minute, but I really didn't need my mind to have any down time.

I ignored the twenty text messages waiting inside my inbox, as well as the seven voice mails. They were all messages from Emmett, Alice, and Rose—with the occasional Esme and Carlisle sprinkled in—all telling me how bummed they were that work forced me to leave so suddenly, how they wished I could have stayed longer, to call when I had a free moment, and so on.

I sent them all a massive message, hoping it would cease whatever worry they might have. I made sure it sounded as light as possible.

**Hey all. Sorry it's taken me a few days to respond but I've been up to my neck in work. Off to Sacramento next and then home in a week. I'll call the second I'm settled in. Glad everything went okay, sorry I had to miss it. Much love. :) -B**

I attached a smiley hoping it would reflect the general mood it was meant to be written in, despite the fact that I truly felt the opposite. To say I felt like hell was an understatement, but what could I really do? I knew he wasn't _mine_ when we slept together.

No— I wasn't going to let my mind travel down that road again, because it'd only leave me a crying unprofessional mess. To distract myself, I checked my emails from Zafrina and was almost surprised to see one from Alice.

**To: Bella**

**From: Alice**

**Sub: For your portfolio**

I opened the massive attachment and immediately wished I didn't. Inside were about a hundred pictures and videos of Edward and Tanya's wedding. The welcome party, the movie under the stars, the shower, none of the bachelor and bachelorette parties but enough from the ceremony and reception to make up for it.

With every picture the ache in my heart grew taking me dangerously close to breaking down all over again. Unable to close out fast enough I shut my entire phone down to get the images off my screen.

"You really have to press the power button thirty times to turn it off?" A humor filled voice echoed in question off the marble of the courtyard making me look up. I was met by a stunningly familiar face and gorgeous blue eyes. "I'm glad I didn't decide to get a Blackberry."

He wasn't _familiar_ like I'd seen or met him personally before, more like I'd seen him a hundred places on screens and posters. A few days go in fact, curled up on Alice's bed while we went over wedding details. "I know you—you're Kevin from 27 Dresses" I breathed feeling like an idiot because I couldn't remember his exact name. In my line of work I occasionally met a few celebrities here and there so I wasn't exactly star struck—just having a brain fart because he'd unknowingly walked in on a very emotional moment and I was forcing myself to get it together.

I half expected him to be insulted that it wasn't coming to me, but he just walked over flashing his All-American smile he was so known for. "Normally I get 'Scott' or 'Cyclops' from the X-men movies, that and the occasional 'that guy from 'The Notebook'. It's refreshing to be associated with one of my _recent_ films"

In an attempt to recover I tried to explain myself, "It's my friend Alice's favorite movie, and we've watched it recently, so Kevin popped in my head first. But I _do_ know your real name, Mr. Marsden."

"Really? Then you _still _have me at a disadvantage..." He hinted waiting for my introduction.

"Isabella Swan," I greeted standing to shake his hand.

He nodded taking note and released my hand, "You know, I have been coming to these parties for about—well I've lost track of how many years—but I have never once seen you. Why is that?"

"This is my first one," I admitted.

He raised his eyebrows, "Well you picked a good year, usually they're all the same—but they went all out this time."

"If that's the case why are you hiding in here instead of enjoying the party?" I countered trying to figure out why he'd be here in the first place, and so early at that.

He shrugged pulling out his phone, "This is where I sneak off to play Trisim until my obligation to attend is met…"

I frowned at the mention of the game that took up most of my friend's time. "The Bejeweled knock off?" I didn't get it the appeal, but then again maybe it was an iPhone thing?

"Oh I'm sorry, does Blackberry have some cooler game?" He argued, taking a seat on the bench.

I rolled my eyes oddly defensive about my phone. "My phone isn't _meant_ for games, it's for work."

"You sound like my wife," He chuckled opening the app but not starting. "We have the same argument every few weeks when she realizes my phone does something hers can't."

"It does what I need it to," I muttered checking my watch.

"Yep... still sound like her," He added motioning for me to grab a seat. I chose the bench across from him to keep my view of the fountain— it really was pretty. Grecian women in stood in a circle facing away from each other. "So... Isabella with a Blackberry, what line of work keeps you tethered to such a trite device?"

I ignored the jab and answered him. "I'm an event coordinator for Happily Ever After."

"You work for _Zafrina?_ Tough break on that one," He knowingly sympathized.

"It's a great opportunity," I half defended. "She's the best, and the experience will come in handy when I open my own firm someday."

Apparently my response surprised him, "You _don't_ plan to stay on? Interesting, I don't think I've ever heard anyone _deciding_ to leave Zafrina's claw."

"Don't worry, it's a ways away." I smirked wryly.

He thought for a minute longer, the music from the party could barely be heard over the trickling water echoing in the space. "So, if you're here... then that means, you put all of this together."

"Sam Uley is the coordinator for this event, I'm just here for something to do." I denied not wanting to take any credit for Sam's baby. I repainted the vision but he executed it thoroughly.

He seemed impressed, "So he decided to turn the swimming pool into the runway this year?"

No, not technically, but this was his baby. So instead of lying I just made a joke, "Don't the Versace models think they walk on water anyway? Might was well."

He laughed, "Hey, I was one of those models once."

"Really?" I don't know why I was surprised.

He nodded in confirmation, "Yep, that's why I'm here every year. I may be acting now, but Versace gave me my start."

All too soon, my watch beeped and I needed to head out. "I'm sorry… I have to go…I have a flight to catch,"

"So late?" He wondered probably just as bothered that the conversation had to end so soon.

"Duty calls," I droned standing up offering my hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Marsden."

"Call me James," He insisted taking it with a smile. "Who knows, maybe I'll be crashing one of your exclusive events one day."

"A girl can dream," I laughed genuinely for the first time in days. I gave him another wave over my shoulder before sending a quick text to Sam to let him know I was heading out, then called a cab to get going.

—

Some memories really did feel like they were only yesterday. I don't think either of us knew how right he really was, because he and his family were in attendance at the private wedding in Sacramento. Impressed with what he saw—a few months later, he specifically commissioned _me_ to coordinate a private release party for The Box. And if that wasn't shocking enough, a few weeks later, he offered to become a financial backer if I chose to go into business for myself.

At that time, I politely declined— I was happy with my job, I was making good money, and I wasn't ready to give it up without the security that I could actually succeed on my own. Sure he was willing to provide the start up funding, but a firm needed staffing, certifications, marketing, clientele, _partners. _And who did I trust enough to start a business with?

After another few months of letting fear halt me, and overall just standing in my own way, I decided to go for it. I resigned from Happily Ever After with barely fourteen months under my belt, but I wasn't scared in the slightest, because by then I had the perfect partner to take the road with me.

Yep, today was a going to be a happy day indeed. I turned on my 'happy go lucky' play list, immediately starting to sing and dance along with Katrina and the Raves currently 'Walking on Sunshine'.

The music kept me upbeat as I cooked enough for me and my roomie and in the back of my mind I wondered if I should be cooking for three instead of just the two of us. If I had to judge from the sounds when I came home last night it'd be a definite yes, but then again jet lag made me crash long before my normal bed time so I had no idea if they left or stayed.

With a shrug I said, "screw it," and threw some more eggs into the pan.

I lost track of time squeezing orange juice, tonelessly singing along with E.L.O and nearly jumped out of my skin when I caught a statuesque brunette watching me curiously from the doorway. "Gah!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," She apologized sheepishly in no way budging from her spot. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and shorts that were too big but with her hair in a braid it actually made her look more cute than 'morning after messy' "I woke first and heard the music—"

Her voice sounded wrong, like it used to be a smooth melodic tone, but now it sounded hoarse and forced. I turned the music down so that she wouldn't have to strain making apologies of my own, "No need to be sorry. I didn't mean to have the music so high, I'm just—kinda in a celebratory mood—I'm Isabella."

"I'm Madison," she greeted coming into the kitchen trying to clear the hoarseness out of her throat.

The poor girl sounded like Alice and I did after going to a NKOTBSB concert a few years back. I shook her hand and released it just a quickly. "I'm sorry, would you like some tea, or juice?"

"Tea would be great."

I quickly grabbed a kettle and put some water on, inviting her to sit while I collected a mug, and an assortment of bags. "Honey?"

"Please" She nodded sitting in the chair furthest from me. She watched me work for a bit in silence before curiosity got the best of her. "Do you cook here often?"

I sat everything on the table for her before turning back to the cupboard for plates, "Not as much as I'd like. Work keeps me pretty busy so we're forced to eat quite a bit of takeout, but I try to cook when things slow down."

"You live here," she gathered obviously surprised, "with Jazz."

I nodded sitting a plate before her, gesturing at the food as we talked. "Yes he's my best friend."

"Oh," She absorbed, and I could tell by her eyes she had a ton more questions but wasn't sure what she was allowed to ask me.

I was used to this part, the uncomfortable awkward silence that came with meeting Jasper's lady friends. Most women—most _people _for that matter— didn't exactly get our relationship, but we'd long stopped trying to explain it to anyone.

"So," Madison started, spinning the waffle into her pile of syrup. "What do you do?"

"I'm an event coordinator for Twilight Affairs," I answered matter-of-factly, over a bite of my food.

She perked up, familiar with the name, "That's the company Jazz works for too, right?"

"Yeah, we're business partners." I added continuing to eat.

That seemed to relax her a bit more, "Jazz says you guys plan parties for the rich and famous, that has to be fun."

"Sometimes, but with a firm as small as ours, there's several tiers of hierarchy put on one person. It's a lot of work, and we never get to indulge in the events." I cleared up—it wasn't nearly as glamorous as everyone thought.

Madison frowned at the thought, "I couldn't imagine planning huge parties and not being able to have fun at them. That must suck."

"It has its downsides, but it also has its perks. They usually send gifts to the office when everything is wrapped up. I got some pretty cool handbags my first year."

She laughed, "Handbags? I bet Jazz loved that."

"Loved what?" A Texan accent yawned from the doorway.

Madison—actually facing the kitchen entrance—dropped her fork, staring at him open mouthed, her cheeks and neck flushed a deep shade of red. I turned around to see what the problem was, and rolled my eyes.

There stood my roommate, teasingly indecent. He was shirtless, and boxerless; his long blonde waves hanging freely on his strapping shoulders, a pair of white silk pajama pants hanging low on his hips exposing just a hint of the "V" below his six pack.

I shook my head turning back around to continue eating—no wonder poor Madison dropped her fork. Jasper Hale had that cat ate the canary smile working overtime, heading over to grab a plate. "Good morning, Sugar."

"Good morning—" "Morning—"

Madison and I greeted at the same time making her head snap at me. I knew that _Sugar_ was my own specific term of endearment, but I shouldn't have said anything right away. It was a habit for us, but I'd only made it awkward.

I stole a glance at my best friend wanting to smack the amused grin off of his face, mentally willing him to fix my mistake. He understood my silent communication better than anyone and took a seat next to her, leaning over to kiss the side of her temple. "You were gone when I woke up this morning, _Sugar_."

With a blush of her cheeks, all was forgotten, "I smelled food and heard music..."

"Please tell me Bella didn't subject you to her singing and dancing?" Jasper apologized pouring himself a glass of juice.

I would have kicked him in the shin if he were close enough, "Hey—watch it—or I stop cooking."

"Then you'll have to eat _my_ cooking," He came back unfazed by my threat.

"You cook?" Madison wondered, finally feeling comfortable enough to start eating.

He nodded, and I scoffed shutting that illusion down, "Yeah if you like meals out of a box, anything he tries to make on his own is cruel and unusual punishment. Now, enough with the snarky comment exchange, Madison, tell me about yourself."

I spent the rest of breakfast getting to know her, listening to _them _tell the story of how they met, and occasionally there were a few questions directed towards Jasper and I about _our_ relationship. How long we'd known each other, how we came to start a business together, how Jasper even got into the event planning business considering he was a bartender when we met. Nothing we hadn't been asked a million times from the people we dated, and after years of experience we had those answers down to a science. After breakfast, Jasper walked Madison out while I cleaned up. Overall, everything ended on a positive note.

"I got it Sugar," Jazz drawled coming over to the sink and I more than willingly abandoned the soapy water to pour myself a cup of coffee. "How was Seattle?"

"Bleak, dismal, rainy. It seriously rained the _entire_ two weeks I was there."

"Yep sounds like Seattle," He deadpanned putting the dishes in the washer facing away from me.

"What time did your flight get in last night? I didn't hear you come in."

My lips involuntarily quirked into a grin at how easily he set himself up. "No but I heard you—well technically _not_ you."

"Yoga instructor." Was his completely unabashed response.

I rolled my eyes at his back, "I was gone two weeks, what happened to 'I'm gonna take a month or two off from the dating scene'?"

"_Yoga _instructor," he repeated again with that same smile in his voice.

"You said L.A. girls were too shallow...that beauty didn't cancel out narcissism...that it wouldn't hurt to date a girl with some depth..."

Finishing the last of the dishes he closed the washer, turned it on, turning to face me repeating the same thing. "_Yo-ga in-struc-tor_" He spelled out to me, like two words explained everything I'd missed the past two weeks—sadly, it kind of did.

"Fine," I relented putting my dirty mug into the sink earning a scowl from him. He hated that, but I had a thing about opening the dishwasher once it started. "We've got to get to the office."

"Mind if we take your car this morning? I've gotta drop the truck off to get serviced on the way in."

Of course I didn't mind, I wanted to drive anyway. I hadn't seen my _baby_ in weeks and missed her probably more than I should. "Then we need to get going or we're going to be late. We still have to stop by the Windows store, to pick up the order—"

"Imma step ahead of you Sugar, the box is already in my trunk."

That just added to my list of good things today. After paying off my initial loan from James and having a surprisingly large amount left over, we decided to get the team new equipment to celebrate, and expand the expense account with the remainder. "That's why you're the best, I have more good news James is willing to take us bi-coastal."

Before I knew it, I was in his arm and spinning around, "I _knew_ it, I knew there was a reason you made waffles this morning. This is amazing! Where do we start? What city? Are we moving or staying here?"

"Too many questions," I whined dangling my feet for him to put me down. "We need to discuss all of this in the office. Sam's not here and we all need to brainstorm and discuss options."

"Then we need to hurry up," He agreed just as excited as I was.

"What we need to do isget_ dressed _Mr. Silk Pants, or the girls on the team won't get very much done. Go!" I shooed heading to the opposite end of our place to get dressed for work myself.

—

"You could have at least warned her that you lived with me," I lectured whipping into my designated space and shutting off the engine.

Somehow on our trip to the mechanics to drop off Jasper's car, and our way to work we had gotten back on the subject of Madison. Jasper pressed the button for my trunk before getting out. "We didn't get that far into conversation Bella."

"Of course not, you just threw her to the awkward wolves," I sighed getting out of the car myself, so preoccupied I barely noticed Sam showing up.

The alarm chirped on his Jaguar and he shook his head, "I should have known you were back by the way you Tokyo drifted into that space, I'm surprised you haven't wrecked it yet."

"Don't speak such blasphemy," I hissed rubbing the glossy black paint on my V12 S-class before crooning a tad softer, "Ignore mean Sam Uley, I would _never_ wreck you." Then a thought occurred to me and I spun on Jasper, "Wait—have you been driving my car while I was gone?"

"It's a Vanquish," Was the only response I got while he shifted the boxes in my trunk. "Need a hand man."

"Sure," Sam shrugged grabbing the other box, while I carefully shut the trunk. "So what did we go with? The Surface?"

"Yep," I confirmed holding the door for them before following, waving a silent good morning to the building's concierge before walking ahead to call the elevator. "So what have I missed the past two weeks? _Besides_ Jasper breaking his dating ban early?"

Sam raised his eyebrows looking over the box at Jasper, and I was glad I wasn't the only one out of the loop.

Jazz just gave him the same answer he gave me this morning, "Yoga instructor."

"_Nice_," Sam congratulated making me roll my eyes all over again.

"Yeah, nice until she walked into the kitchen surprised that he lived with a woman." I added to stress my point.

Sam winced, "You didn't tell her you and Bella lived together? Not good."

"When is there ever a good time to tell a girl that?" Jasper countered, "It would have been fine if she wasn't dancing around in her Superman's this morning."

Sam shook his head, "Bella not the Superman's."

"What's wrong with the Superman pajamas, I think they're cute?" I defended unsure why they'd be an issue. It was a tank and matching pajama shorts, and considering I normally slept in an oversized t-shirt I thought we were lucky.

Jasper sighed, "Nope, they make you look like something out of every teenage boy's wet dream."

"They don't bother you or Sam." I countered never being able to recall them being a single reason for distraction.

"Because I'm not a teenage boy," he retorted stepping off the elevator. "I'm just saying it isn't all my fault."

Sam just sighed, "Are we getting on this again?"

"No—" I rushed before he could get started with the Bella, Jasper lecture. "I was just saying if he prepped his girls a little better, I wouldn't be forced to have awkward conversations with women in my kitchen turning twenty shades of red."

"Speaking of _shades..._"Sam grinned pointing to an empty reception desk, and then four women huddled into one corner cubicle leaning over a desk, talking in hushed whispers.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, both surprised and unsurprised at the same time. "Jessica..." I called carefully making all four of them jump and look up.

"Boss!" She shrieked closing the book, trying to hid the cover with crossed hands as best she could. She turned pink when she noticed Sam and Jasper behind me, "Boss...boss...boss." She greeted the three of us waiting to be reprimanded.

I didn't know where to start. "Ladies..._why?_"

"Research Miss Swan," Zoey our bubbly blonde, twenty-five year old receptionist and administrative office manager volunteered.

Sam sighed looking to Carson, the junior coordinator he directly supervised, "Do I even want to know?"

Carson shook her head, not really embarrassed that her bosses just caught her reading romance smut. Or at least she didn't show it, she never really showed any emotions actually. "Not really but I'm sure Stanley will tell you anyway."

"I'm just trying to see what I'm doing wrong here," Jessica—Jasper's junior— volunteered.

Okay, I'll bite. "Wrong?"

"Yeah, wrong." She repeated with a nod. "I've read through this book at least ten times, and I realize I'm a carbon copy of Anastasia Steele, so where is my Christian?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose again regretting that I even asked, but Jasper didn't get it, "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, we have all types of big wigs walking in and out of this office every _week,_ and I have yet to pull my troubled good looking billionaire with a sensitive soul. I have it all; brunette, powder blue eyes, soft full lips, pale skin, slightly stubborn, a tad shy—"

"Jessica Stanley, you are _not_ shy." Karina, my personal junior coordinator corrected before I could.

Her eyebrows furrowed like the thought had never occurred to her, "Really? Huh, maybe that's what I need to work on. Being aggressive a little less, blushing a bit more...I can do that."

"Seriously?" Jasper whispered from the corner of his mouth, no doubt questioning her sanity.

Sam just shook his head reminding him, "She's _your _junior."

I really hoped she wasn't crazy enough to try and snag a client. "That's ridiculous Jessica, he's a character in a _book, _a book that is to never been seen during office hours. And if you're gonna be in here all doe eyed and lash batting in hopes of gaining a client's affection, then you better bite your bottom lip for the extra effort because you're in trouble if we catch you."

"Wait—how do you know Anastasia bites her lip all the time?" Zoey accused through narrowed but entertained eyes.

I was done, "Do you guys want to see what we bought you or not?"

"We get presents?" My junior lit up taking a seat on the edge of Jessica's desk taking note of the boxes in Jazz and Sam's hands.

Sam sat his box down and cut it open giving them each a box. "That's right ladies, you get Surface tabs. Starting today these will be replacing you planner tablets and doubling as a laptop away from the office."

"Ekk! I wanted one of these." Jessica shrieked hugging the box with both arms.

Jasper took the time to remind all of them, "You're allowed to take them home, but they're for _work_, so keep them password protected, m'kay?"

"Yes Mr. Hale." The four of them chanted in unison all shuffling off to their designated areas to set them up and transfer information.

We pulled out our own and gave the rest of the box to Sam since he'd see the others before we did. Eric, our tech guy, Charles, our photographer and filmographer, and Paul, our accountant made up the last three members of Twilight Affairs.

I got to work immediately returning any emails and calls I missed being away, and went over the last few details for the wedding Sunday. About two hours into the work day Zoey dialed my extension.

"Hey! Are you busy?"

What kind of question was that? It was my first day back, my desk was cluttered beyond recognition and my emails looked worse. "Considering you're the person that handles my messages and schedule, you should know the answer to that."

She groaned the same time I did. She always did her best to keep us from coming back to a full agenda. After spending days and sometimes weeks at a time away for work was hard enough, but coming back to a long to-do list of things you missed was worse. "I know, but you've got this call on line three. She called this morning before we opened up pretty hell bent on speaking to you, but you weren't here yet. I got her number and told her you'd return the call, but she's called back before I could even put her in the queue."

"Just what I need, another client that feels more important than the others. Who is it this time?" I breathed balancing the phone between my shoulder and ear while I used both hands to pull up the call queue.

Zoey's typing skills got to it a bit faster. "She isn't in our client files yet, someone named Alice Cull—."

"—Put her through." I ordered, a hint of worry settling in my stomach. If she called my office line whatever she needed had to be serious.

My urgency caught Zoey off guard, probably because the name wasn't familiar but she put her through without question. "Ooookay…"

"Allie? What's wron—"

"—Where have you been?!" Alice demanded on the other end. "I can't believe I had to go through a _receptionist_ to talk to my best friend."

Irritation flickered now that I was sure no one was fatally injured or worse, "I just got in from Seattle last night, it's been a long two weeks."

My reason wouldn't fly with her. "You've been MIA longer than _two _weeks, try a_ month_ Bella."

Man did a month fly by, "I know, but you know its wedding season, we're all spread pretty thin here. I'm doing a minimum of sixty hours a week. It's no excuse, and it sucks, but we're in the middle of something huge and I have to just work through it."

Alice shifted into that whining tone that always made me feel bad. "I miss you Bells, I can't remember the last time we _saw_ each other."

"Three months ago, Miami, Versace party." I answered with perfect recollection.

I could practically picture her shaking her tiny head, "Doesn't count, that was only for a day before you were off to Cincinnati and I was heading to New York."

"You were at that fashion show in Atlanta two months before that, we spent like three days there. Then there was Met Ball last May." I reminded trying to find a silver lining.

My old college roomie let out a long breath of frustration, "When was the last time we spent time together outside of our work _making_ us cross paths. It's been at least _two _years. We're never supposed to be too busy for each other."

"Says the woman that's in Milan, and Paris every other month," She was just as busy as I was if not worse.

Her whine disappeared, and I could hear the real genuine sadness there. "I know, but we promised each other no matter how busy we got we'd at least make time to Skype every other week and get together at least once a year."

Now I just felt worse, Alice and the other Cullen's had invited me to several events over the years, most of which I declined. Work was always the guise I used and they more than understood, but in truth I promised to stay far away from any function that would hold even the smallest possibility of Edward attending.

It'd gotten easier overtime to train my voice not to waver at the slightest mention of his name, and I learned long ago how to finesse my way out of family get togethers with promises to stop in whenever work took me near Boston. Sometimes I only had time for a quick lunch with Carlisle and Esme, or a tiny shopping trip with Rose, hell other times Emmett would just show up to keep me company in-between flights—I noticed quickly that as long as I followed through on that particular promise they'd easily forgive my absences on more important gatherings.

Then there were other times, when it'd cause tension. Like the time Alice and I argued for a solid three weeks because I couldn't attend her first fashion show. A few months after Edward's wedding, Alice took a trip to Milan and discovered that the world of fashion was her calling. It took her almost a year, but she designed a very small line and hosted an invite only fashion show for feedback in Pittsburg.

I was in my first four months of Twilight Affairs and running myself ragged trying to get our name out there. Everyone was going to be there, but we had an event that same weekend. Jasper and Sam offered to cover for me a million times, but then again they were the only two people on the planet that knew the _my _story about that weekend in Nantucket ( Jasper knew about love feelings and all) so neither of them pressed me to go.

"It'll get better Alice, I'm free the entire month of September so far, and maybe I can carve out a week just for us?" I suggested hoping she'd have a week free that month too.

She sighed, "It'll have to be after the thirteenth, that's fashion week in NY."

"Are you featured this year?" I perked up trying to catch up on the past month.

"Hell no, it's way too late for that now. I'm fighting for next year, I'm trying to get a spot between Lulu Frost and Kenneth Cole it's a bidding war out of this world." Her whining voice was back, but it was stress related.

I knew all about the bidding war for best exposure, "Don't let them box you out. Are you keeping track of your figures?"

"Yeah, Edward's helping out for the time being since he has time on his hands, but I'm going to have to hire someone permanently eventually. Between this and the party planning he's driving me insane." Alice admitted no doubt rubbing her temples. "I need your help Bella."

I was more alert at the mention of Edward's name and mine in the same sentence grouping. "With _what_ exactly?"

"We have a family reunion type thing in New York this year for the family on Dad's side. We figured since most of the Cullen's would be there anyway, and him and Mom's anniversary is in the same week, we'd throw them a party." I listened in silence as she rattled on. "Nothing big, just about a hundred fifty people, but this isn't Emmett's thing, and Edward's all distracted with—outside stuff— and I haven't coordinated anything since Edward's wedding and I want it to be _really_ special. They've never had anything big for their anniversary."

"When is their anniversary again?" I asked more out of habit, not really thinking.

"October tenth."

I was stuck—torn between letting Alice down and putting myself through torture. I couldn't do this. I'd spent the last five years staying away from Edward Cullen and she was basically asking me walk into awkward.

I must have been silent for too long, "…We'll pay you whatever you charge of course—"

"Money isn't the issue Allie, if I can do it I'll do it for free, you know that. Esme and Carlisle are like parents to me." I breathed tapping my nails on my desk.

Alice was in an intuitive mood today, "Issue? There's an issue? What's wrong Bella?"

I panicked, "I don't know my schedule. Can I check, on it and call you back?"

"You'll call me back _today_?" She hesitated, skeptical to let me off the phone.

Was I getting that bad? "Yes Allie, I promise. I'll call you back before five."

"Your time or mine—"

"—Alice." I hissed

"Just checking," She defended.

"My time," I surrendered without argument. "I have to go Al."

The second I put the phone down I was out of my desk and office heading next door to Jazz's. I knocked twice, and burst in. Sam was with him going over his project in Vegas next month, apparently my face mirrored my inner dilemma perfectly. "You okay Bells? You don't look so hot."

"You look like you've seen ghost," Jasper agreed gesturing to the chair next to Sam.

I locked the door behind me and collapsed in the leather seat. "Just got off the phone with Alice."

Jasper turned the name over in his mind. "Alice….Alice…why does that name sound familiar?" I couldn't blame him, she reacted the same way whenever I mentioned Jasper. They both knew _of _each other, but with her living on the other side of the country—and sometimes the world— they'd never actually met.

"You remember Emmett, the one we went to the Lakers game with?" Sam reminded so that I could get to the point.

Jasper could place Em easily, "Yeah—so Alice must be the blonde model looking one with the nice—"

"No that's Rosalie, Emmett's wife." I clipped.

"That makes Alice, Emmett's baby _sister_ and your old college roommate." He connected rather proud of himself. "And I was going to say _eyes _by the way. What? She has nice eyes…. They're so blue they're almost violet."

Sam brought us back on topic, "Okay ignoring eye fetish over here—what about talking to Alice? She's a good friend right? I figured talking to your friends would be a good thing."

"Not when she wants me to plan her parent's anniversary party," I disagreed shaking my head.

"Oh—I get it." Jasper realized. "Breaks the rules."

Sam sighed, "You two and your rules. Someone explain this to me."

"Alice Cullen is Edward Cullen's little sister—the guy _she_ has to stay away from. It is literally impossible for her do that coordinating a party for his parents, he's going to be there." Jasper explained knowing how I felt better than anyone, after all, we both had our one person.

Sam ran a hand over his head, "Edward—hold on, the married guy from _five_ years ago? I thought that was done when you ran away ages ago."

"I didn't _run_ away," I argued defensively, "if I recall correctly I came to be _your _white knight."

Sam rolled his eyes, "No, you came because you couldn't handle feeling like an idiot and not being able to tell anyone why. You couldn't face the rejection so you left it, and that's okay."

"Hold on a sec'" Jasper intervened on my behalf. "In her defense, he did sleep with her, and the morning after convinced her he was calling off a wedding that he went through with anyway. That's a dick move. "

"Yes but we have _two_ consenting adults here, not just one. At any time she could have backed out of this entire thing, but she chose to take a risk—on what basis I still don't understand—but she chose." Sam argued logically.

I didn't take offense to him somewhat defending Edward, because that just how Sam was. He was my friend, I had no doubt about that, but he wasn't the type that would blindly take my side out of loyalty. He looked at it from all angles and didn't hesitate to tell me when I was at fault, no matter how slight the fault was. It was one of his best qualities and it made me trust him almost as much as I trusted Jazz.

Jasper was in disbelief, "So, what are you saying, she should have stayed? Talked it out? She should have stood in the back watching a guy she—" He had to catch himself, "Really _liked_ marry some woman he said he'd break it off with? Was that the right way to handle it?"

"No I'm not saying that her staying would have been the right way to handle it. I'm saying that there was _no right way_ to handle the morning after situation because they're initial start was _wrong._ They were already _wrong_. They were both involved, and chose to cheat and there's no real going back from that." Maybe he had a point, and when spelled out that way, Jasper couldn't even argue.

Sam let out a loud breath. "Look, if they met, hit it off, and he felt something and wanted to explore it, and they agreed to break up with who they were dating, and he turned out to marry her anyway _before_ he and Bella had sex, then yeah, asshole Edward all the way.

Not saying that using your wedding coordinator for one last single tryst isn't an asshole move—because it is. But—"

"Yeah I know—I'm asshole Bella too." I agreed.

Sam gave me an apologetic smile and I forced myself to smile back.

"Hey," Jasper whispered walking around to sit on the desk in front of me. He tilted my chin to make me look up at him. "You were twenty-two, and you did something stupid. Did you learn from it?"

I nodded rolling my eyes up at the ceiling because that was the understatement of the century. I learned never to _leap_ without the security of being caught, and no one could ever one hundred percent promise they'd catch you so it was safer not to jump at all.

"Then what's rule number three?" He demanded with a smirk.

I let out a sigh chanting one of the many rules that got us to where we were. "Never look down, and never look back. Everything thing we need is front of us, and the only place we're going us up."

"Good girl," He praised with a nod.

Sam just groaned uninterested, "Don't get me started on you two and your _rules_. If you two weren't exactly the same I'd tell you to get together and get it over with, but I'm worried about what type of crazy offspring you'd produce."

We shifted away from each other, "What is that supposed to mean?" Jazz insisted crossing his arms.

"You know we don't—"

Sam cut me off scrolling through his tablet. "Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean the world isn't assuming."

"The world can think what they want," Jazz flexed. I just shrugged, he helped me learn a long time ago not to care what people thought about me personally, I'd only end up being someone else—Rule number nine.

"Another conversation for another day, Bella when is the anniversary?" Sam asked getting us back on point again.

"October tenth," I recalled still wondering how I wanted to proceed.

Sam tsked and shook his head, "You've got The CW fall premiere party the week before, are you and Jazz have clear schedules for two weeks after that."

"What do you wanna do Sugar?" My best friend asked, both of them staring at me.

I was still torn, "I don't want to let Allie down, but I don't really want to see Edward again."

"Then don't," Jasper suggested, "Plan the event and we'll send one of the juniors to see that everything's carried out."

Sam looked surprised at Jasper's ability to compromise. "Which junior? Carson's with me planning that _Hollyween_ thing."

"Karina's going to be assisting me with CW and she'd be ran ragged jumping from that to this." I denied frowning. She was the only one I trusted to go, but I didn't trust Jessica enough to swap projects and take her to premiere party with me.

Jasper grinned already knowing that his choice in junior was far from my favorite, "How about we cross the bridge when we get there?"

"Or we can discuss the _other_ option on the table." Sam added, "Her sucking it up and actually _going_."

I started to protest all over again, "But Ed—"

"—It was five years ago Bella, he probably doesn't remember you." He suggested in an attempt to ease anxiety and failed. "That sounded bad—but you know what I mean. You could just _talk_ to him, it could have just been some miscommunication."

Jasper pounced on that one, "Miscommunication? Um, getting married is the biggest way to answer without saying anything. And okay, let's just say he wanted to talk to her, or work all of this out, Bella wasn't exactly a stranger. He knew enough about her to reach out if he wanted to."

"Can we focus on the _actual_? I don't even want to remember Nantucket let alone listen to you two dissect it." I breathed when I heard enough.

Sam was all for it. "Okay, 're viewing this all wrong, you should kinda thank him."

"Thank _him_?" "_Thank_ him?"

Jasper and I said that the same time. Sam just chuckled, "Yeah. Think about it. You were on vacation when you met him. You weren't supposed to work again until Sacramento. He hurt you and you ran, putting you at the Versace party you wouldn't have gone to otherwise."

"There you met James Marsden…" Jasper followed.

Sam nodded, "And five years later at twenty-seven look where you are. You're successful, Twilight Affairs is literally _etched_ into Hollywood. You drive a _Vanquish_. You have friends and a team that love you. And other than one little blemish in your past I'd say you pretty much love your life."

"Oh, and we're going bi-coastal!" I rushed mad I didn't tell him sooner.

It was déjà vu, I was in a strong set of arms and being spun around all over again with cheering so loud I'm sure everyone outside the office was wondering what in the hell we were up to. I couldn't help but laugh as I listened to the both of them make a chanting song about it.

"We're going to the east coast, we're going to the east coast…"

Sam rocking me back and forth still not putting me down. "Okay, okay, we're going to the east coast! Now put me down."

"Whelp, I'll be the first to say it," Jasper drawled with a grin on his face miles wide. "Thank you Edward Cullen."

I rolled my eyes, "Thank you _Sam, _for not taking all the credit."

"And thank you James Marsden." Sam finished up. "I feel like we should be toasting right now."

"Don't worry, drinks after work." I promised wanting nothing more than to unwind with alcohol and my boys.

* * *

**Okay, Hopefully I'll have another chapter up on time Sunday since I'm working on it now. Once again thanks to Karina, Zoey, Carson, and Madison for letting me use them. I have room for four more readers if anyone is brave enough to let me (three girls and a guy) but if not I'm not short on imagination. Feel free to PM me if you're up for it.**

**As always let me know what you think...**

**DINISHAROB**


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